


The Accompanist

by BobaBunnies



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Angst, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adult Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Adult Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Classical Music, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Music, Alternate Universe - No Akuma (Miraculous Ladybug), Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Classical Music, Drama & Romance, F/M, Light Angst, Minor Luka Couffaine/Kagami Tsurugi, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Music, Musical Instruments, Musical References, Musicians, Out of Character Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Out of Character Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Piano, Roleswap, Violins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:15:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26001001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BobaBunnies/pseuds/BobaBunnies
Summary: "You should have seen the way he looked at you during your performance."Violin virtuoso Marinette Dupain-Cheng is left having to find a new accompanist after breaking up with her boyfriend, Félix, who also happened to be her old accompanist.One day, the violinist crosses paths with a certain pianist: Adrien Agreste, Félix's cousin. Although she disliked the idea of playing with another person from Félix's family, it's not like she had a choice一her next performance was in a week.However, once she gets to know Adrien more, her perspective of him begins to change一especially when she learns about the mystery regarding his parents' death.TRIGGER WARNING: domestic abuse, murder, and sensitive topics regarding depression/suicidal behaviors are addressed in this story.*Also posted on Wattpad under the same username*❕May change rating to mature as the story progresses❕🚨ON HIATUS🚨
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 103
Kudos: 73





	1. Prelude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to my story! :D
> 
> I'm new to AO3 and don't really know how to use this site :O but setting that aside, this fanfic will be centered around music. The characters may be OOC at times, but I hope that's okay! And please don't hesitate to ask if you are confused about anything music related, I'm more than happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability!
> 
> Also, if you play any instruments, don't be shy to comment what instruments you play! I would love to get to know you more!!
> 
> I'll stop talking now, I hope you enjoy the story! :3

**I. Prelude**

_Usually_ _quite_ _brief_ _,_ _a_ _prelude_ _is_ _a_ _musical_ _composition_ _that_ _is_ _played_ _before_ _a_ _larger_ _musical_ _piece_ _and is often shorter than the movements that follow it_ _._

**~•~**

Blood.

That was all he remembered.

Body tense and wracked with tremendous palpitations, the young teenager's eyes resembled the size of a frisbee, present with an intense luminesce of horror-filled viridescence. The color of his shimmering green eyes fought against the scarlet river underneath his shoes like the colors of Christmas.

Only, this was no joyous event such as the holidays.

A rush of tingles and arctic chills surged through his trembling body. Tears brimmed along his eyelids, scalding his eyes and blurring his vision to the pair of corpses sprawled out on the floor一one a gray-haired man with glasses and the other a golden-haired woman. The familiar faces of the ones who raised him.

**~Present Day~**

After another long day at work, a blond boy in his early twenties stepped outside the doorway of a local coffee shop. The heavy door closed behind him with an airy thump, muted by the solemn violin melody playing from his earbuds. With the orange sunset tinting the sky, Adrien stuffed his chilly hands inside his pockets. His head turned to the flower shop just next door, where an ombre -haired woman entered the building with a short bluenette by her side一the artist whose music he was listening to right now.

The fresh, nature-like smell of flowers whiffed past her as Marinette stepped through the door. Her eyes sparked at the bright, polychromatic display of various different flowers all around her. Alya stood behind her, arms crossing over her chest as she watched her overexcited friend bounce around the shop.

"Why are we here again?" Alya asked.

"I just wanted to get a flower for my room," Marinette responded, eyeing a row of bright pink flowers, "Félix usually destroys the ones I get from fans, so一"

"He _what?_ "

Marinette shot her eyes to Alya, surprised that her one raised eyebrow had not popped right out of her head. A small giggle came from Marinette's lips as she lightly patted her best friend on the shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about it, Alya," Marinette said, "He doesn't like flowers, but that's not gonna stop me from buying some for myself."

"No, Marinette. He一"

Marinette blinked a single time, tilting her head to the side. A loud, raspy groan escaped Alya's lips like a rumbling avalanche.

"Forget it," Alya mumbled.

A muted ding vibrated from the inside of Marinette's purse. The young woman drew her phone out of her bag. A rather panicked gasp entered her mouth as her eyes landed on the small screen.

"Sorry, I gotta go," Marinette hurried, "Félix is asking where I am and I'm almost late for our rehearsal. I'll see you tomorrow, bye!"

Alya opened her mouth to speak, but Marinette had already dashed off. As the bluenette neared the doorway, her shoulder bumped into another shoulder. With a small yelp, the short woman stumbled over her feet and fell forward. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back up before she could face plant into the floor. Her back came into contact with something soft and cushion-like, rising and falling against her body. She turned her neck to look over her shoulder, where her line of sight fell upon a pair of eyes that were as green as a flower stem.

The arms unraveled around her, allowing her to fully face the tall, blond figure who had a face much like her boyfriend. Only, this face was, in a way, less intimidating.

"I'm sorry!" Marinette apologized, dipping her head slightly.

Before Adrien could say a single syllable, the bluenette turned on her heels. He watched as she continued out the doorway, sprinting into the distance until she disappeared from his sight.

~

A bouquet of multicolored flowers dropped onto the damp green grass. Though, in his eyes, the bouquet was nothing but gray petals with a few spots of red unevenly spread out here and there. Ever since that day, he lost his ability to see colors.

Except red.

To him, these "colors" came out rather dark and gloomy. Like the flowers were a photograph taken on an old black and white camera that had dark-colored ink spilled all over its lens.

Adrien kneeled in front of the pair of gravestones. He placed his palm on the grass and stared at the letters embedded into the rocks. The letters which spelled out his last name.

"Today marks ten years since I lost you two," Adrien muttered, "It still feels like it was yesterday."

His fingers closed in around the thin grass blades underneath him. A soft ripping sound rang through the air as he tugged the blades out of their soil.

"I just had another boring day at work as per use," Adrien continued, "My girlfriend broke up with me last week, but it's fine. Life sucks anyways, it is what it is."

Adrien turned his head upwards, watching the light gray clouds roll by against the dusky tangerine hue of the sunset. He inhaled a long breath through his nose, then exhaled it into a long sigh through his mouth.

"Sometimes I just want to disappear," Adrien sighed, "Even if I were gone, it's not like anyone would notice or even care."

His eyebrows lifted the second those words left his lips. His eyes darted back to the gravestones in front of him as his fingers clenched into shaky fists against the rough grass. He tilted his head down, allowing his golden bangs to cover his eyes like a thick curtain.

"If that's the case, then..."

His fingers released the grass blades that had been clenched between them. Keeping his head down, Adrien rose to his feet. His line of sight traveled from the flower bouquet to the two gravestones as his hands tucked themselves into his pockets yet again.

"...I'll see you both again soon."


	2. Cantabile

** II. Cantabile **

_Cantabile_ _(kahn_ _ **•**_ _TAAH_ _ **•**_ _bi_ _ **•**_ _lay)_ _is an instrumental music style that is played in a way to imitate the human voice._

**~•~**

Adrien swung his legs over the railing and settled above the crystal clear water below him. His eyes stared blankly at his reflection, where his legs dangled loosely above his image. His fingers clenched around the edge of the bridge's railing while his mind raced with a horde of sour thoughts. The thoughts that have been attacking him for as long as he could remember.

He's had enough. Being stuck in a continuous cycle of getting hurt over and over again, hiding behind a plastic smile everyday, dwelling on the trauma of his past, he was tired of it all. He couldn't take this pain anymore.

Just one jump, and it will all be over.

His eyes closed shut, clouding his vision in nothing but darkness. Pale redness from the sun in the distance danced around the inside of his eyelids. A pair of small, wet trails snuck out from underneath his eyelids, tickling his skin as they snaked their way down his cheeks. His lungs expanded and contracted as he took a series of deep breaths一the last breaths he will ever take. His fingers let go of the railing in preparation for one final jump.

"I hope you're not about to do what I think you are."

Adrien's eyes darted open at the male voice from behind him. His hands clamped back down on the railing, allowing him to regain his balance. Adrien turned his head to look over his shoulder, where a tan-skinned boy wearing glasses and a red baseball cap stood with his arms folded over his chest. The blond drew his eyes away from him and looked back down at the shimmering water.

"Go away, Nino," Adrien said, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

With a sigh, Nino leaned his elbows on the railing. His expression softened with concern as he looked at his friend.

"You know I'm not looking forward to diving head first into the lake, right?"

"No one's asking you to," Adrien mumbled, "Just leave and go on with your day."

"Do you really think I'd be able to go on with my day knowing I couldn't stop you?" Nino snapped, "Either way. If you jump, I'm jumping after you."

Finally, Adrien drew his eyes away from the water. He turned his head to look at the boy by his side. Nino now stood with his hand extended towards him, holding his palm upwards. Adrien's eyes fell upon Nino's hand, staring at the naturally embedded curved lines in his palm.

"I know you haven't had the best life, but I promise you you're not alone," Nino said, "And let me remind you that it's not gonna be that easy to push me away whether you like it or not."

Adrien's sight traveled from his best friend's palm to his face. One corner of Nino's lips twitched upwards into a small smile of reassurance.

"Come on, dude. Get off the railing and let's go home. The sun's almost setting."

Without complaining, Adrien extended his hand towards him. He placed his hand in his, allowing Nino to help him off the railing.

~

"You know you can go back home now, right?" Adrien stated, grabbing a glass bottle from his refrigerator.

Nino slipped into a stool at the kitchen counter, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you really quickly."

"Sure, what's up?"

Adrien held an unopened beer bottle out to Nino, to which he declined. Taking a seat in front of his best friend, Adrien popped the cap off and held the bottle to his lips.

"I've been pondering about this for some time, actually," Nino began, "That was the third time you've tried to jump off that bridge over the past five months, and I think you should go back to therapy."

Adrien slowly lowered the bottle, allowing it to settle on the marble counter. His hands clamped themselves around the bottle as his fingers repeatedly tapped against the glass, creating a chorus of high pitched and bell-like rings.

"I can't, Nino," Adrien sighed, "It's too expensive and I already have all these bills to worry about."

"You can try looking for a cheaper one," Nino suggested, "I just want you to get the help you need. I'm worried about you, Adrien."

Staying silent, Adrien clenched his bottom lip between his teeth. As much as he appreciated having Nino by his side, deep down he hated it when people worried about him.

"Whatever you decide to do, just remember that I'm here for you," Nino added, "And I'm guessing you're still upset about things with Kagami. After all, you guys have been together for quite a while."

Adrien shrugged, "It's whatever. She fell out of love and I didn't."

Adrien stared down at his hands around the glass bottle, remembering the days where they once held another hand. A pair of brown eyes and short, dark hair made their way into his thoughts. Her voice, her smile, he missed all of it. Days felt more like months without her, and he still ached to see her name pop up on his screen. Whenever he received a notification, his heart raced with excitement at the possibility that it could be her.

But it never is.

"I don't think she was the one for you," Nino said, "As much as it hurts."

Adrien nodded silently. He lifted the beer bottle off the table. Before the rim of the bottle could even brush his lips, Nino reached out and snatched the bottle from him. The dark haired boy pushed himself off the stool, walking around the counter with the bottle in his hand. Adrien lifted an eyebrow, slightly annoyed by his best friend's actions.

"What are you doing?"

"You need to stop drinking," Nino said, tilting the bottle over the sink.

The contents of the glass bottle spilled into the sink, emitting a low rumbling sound as they entered the drain. Adrien turned around in his stool to fully face Nino, leaning his back against the edge of the counter. He watched as Nino placed a new addition to the row of empty bottles that lined up near the sink.

"It's not even that strong, but you do you," Adrien said quietly.

"Dude. Knowing you, you're probably gonna get yourself drunk," Nino pointed out, "And I _really_ don't want to deal with your drunk ass again."

Adrien tilted his head, "Is drunk me really that bad?"

"Well, you tried to drive my motorcycle last time," Nino said, "Luckily, you didn't even turn on the engine but still managed to fall off."

"I see," Adrien said, twitching his eyebrow at the embarrassing thought.

Adrien jumped off the stool. Nino watched as his blond friend strolled his way across the floor. Adrien's figure turned a corner at the end of the hall, disappearing from his view behind a wall.

"Where are you going?" Nino called after him.

"To my piano," Adrien's voice called back, "Do whatever you want, I don't care. Make yourself at home I guess."

Adrien stepped inside a wooden floored room, closing the door behind him. In the corner of the relatively small room sat a black grand piano, the one thing that kept him going through all these years. Music was there for him whether he was soaring over cloud nine (which was quite rare) or down in the dumps. Whenever he played, he felt as if he had been transported to a whole new world. Like all his sadness and problems had temporarily ceased. The black and white keys practically allowed him to spill his emotions out, ranging from bright and sunny majors to low and disheartening minors.

With music, he finally felt in control.

He felt free.

**~•~**

The shiny, snow colored liquid poured into the steel cocktail shaker. The bell chimed from the entrance, followed by greetings from Adrien's coworkers. He twitched his head up from his current work, his lips parting the second they landed on the visitor.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the well-known violinist. By her side was, once again, that ombre-haired woman he saw yesterday. Although he did unexpectedly run into her yesterday (literally), he never thought he would see her walk through the doors of the coffee shop.

Adrien had an entire playlist full of her music. He admired the way her emotions projected powerfully through her music, something he could only dream of doing himself. The unique melodies of her original pieces were sounds that he would never get tired of hearing. Although his cousin (who he openly hated for other reasons) was already her accompanist, Adrien had always dreamed about accompanying her violin one day.

Though, it was very unlikely he would ever get the chance to do so, especially considering how inexperienced he was in playing with other musicians.

"Uh, Adrien?"

Adrien snapped out of his daydream at the call of his name. It was then that his hand became covered in a flood of icy wetness. He looked down at his work, where the milk he had been pouring now covered both his hand and the counter as it pooled over the brim of the shaker. Gasping, Adrien set the milk carton down. He drew his hand away from the cold shaker and ran to the sink to wash it off. He returned to his station with a towel, cursing under his breath as he dabbed at the milk spill.

"I'll finish that order for you," His male coworker said, carefully reaching for the shaker full of milk, "Get the new one started."

"Got it."

Alya and Marinette took their seats at a table as they waited for their drinks. After sending a text message, Marinette dropped her phone inside her bag. She placed her elbows on the table as she turned to face Alya.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Marinette asked.

"It's about Félix," Alya began, "It's kind of late for me to say this considering you've been with him for two years already, but it's better late than never."

Alya exhaled a long sigh, "I don't think your relationship with him is healthy at all."

Alya braced herself for any counterargument to come out of Marinette's mouth. However, to her surprise, Marinette nodded her head in response to her statement.

"I can't say I disagree," Marinette said, "But it's hard to leave because of our music partnership and I don't want to hurt him. Even if he causes me physical and emotional pain, I一"

"Wait," Alya interrupted, "Did you say _physical?_ "

Marinette's eyes widened at the realization of what she just revealed. She mentally slapped herself in the face for not watching her words. Marinette gulped down a thick lump, her body heating up at Alya's slightly narrowed eyes.

"Marinette," Alya's voice grew low and serious, "Is he _hitting_ you?"

The midnight haired woman darted her eyes to the table, "Just once or twice."

She hoped with all her heart that her words were convincing enough. However, Alya was not convinced at all. She knew when her best friend was lying, and her relationship was far worse than she initially thought.

"I think it's finally time I say this," Alya started, clearing her throat, "He. Does. Not. Love. You. Why can't you see that?"

Marinette kept her head down, her stomach churning in shame as Alya spoke some sense into her. The ombre-haired woman paused for a brief moment to push her glasses up her nose.

"I know it hurts and I'm sorry, but it's the truth. He's just using you for fame, Marinette."

Marinette sighed, avoiding eye contact with Alya, "I don't know what to do, though. I一"

"Break up with him," Alya demanded.

"What about my music career?"

"You can find a new accompanist, there are many great pianists out there," Alya said, "Something's telling me that the only reason you're staying with him is because of your partnership. That's not true love."

Marinette stared down at her hands, which had been clasped together over her lap. She nervously fidgeted with her thumbs, rubbing their sides against each other in a continuous motion.

"I did love him, though," Marinette mumbled silently.

"You _did_ is not the same as you _do_ , Marinette," Alya pointed out, "You need to end things with him as soon as possible, it's only going to hurt more if you wait longer."

Finally, Marinette turned her head back up. Her eyes darted briefly to the side, where they landed on a small piano covered in a white tablecloth. She looked back at Alya and opened her mouth to speak, but paused at the sound of her order number. The bluenette stood up from her seat and turned away, leaving Alya alone at the table. Alya's fingers tapped continuously against the polished wood as she waited for her friend's return.

"Thank you," Marinette said.

She grabbed her warm latte from the blond barista. Just as she turned around on her heels, his voice called after her.

"Wait."

With the warmth of her beverage absorbing into her palms, Marinette glanced over her shoulder, where she was met with the face of the young man she bumped into yesterday.

"Uh... You're Marinette, right?" The blond asked awkwardly, "I... Love your music."

Marinette's lips formed a smile at his compliment, "Thank you. And sorry about yesterday, I was in a hurry."

"Don't worry about it," He replied, "Nice talking to you anyways一"

"What's your name?" Marinette blurted.

The barista blinked a single time at her unexpected question. He glanced over both of his shoulders, where his coworkers were all busy doing their own work. He turned his attention back to the violinist in front of him, who now faced him with her entire body.

"Adrien," The blond answered.

"Nice to meet you, Adrien," Marinette said, turning away, "I'll let you get back to work now, bye!"

And with that, the dark haired musician took off. One edge of Adrien's lips cracked upwards ever so slightly. He turned back to his station, picking up the empty plastic cup that was next in line.

Marinette returned to her seat across from Alya, who tilted her head when she saw the rather cheery expression on Marinette's face. That small compliment and portion of recognition she just received was enough to make her day. The short girl placed her beverage on the table, shooting Alya a quick nod.

"I'll break up with him," Marinette said, "You were right about everything."

Alya blinked, "Well, that was fast. When are you going to do it?"

Marinette lifted her steamy beverage to her lips, taking in the semi-bitter taste of matcha mixed with sweet chocolate and a hint of floral coconut. The scorching liquid left a painful itch in its wake as it burned her tongue. She lowered the lidded coffee cup back down to the table, gulping down the scalding beverage with slightly teary eyes. She paused for a quick moment before answering Alya's question.

"Tonight."


	3. Étude

**III. Étude**

_An_ _étude_ _(_ _French_ _word_ _for_ _"_ _study_ _")_ _is_ _a_ _musical_ _piece_ _that_ _is_ _played_ _for_ _the_ _sole_ _purpose_ _of_ _practicing_ _a_ _specific_ _technique_ _._

**~•~**

With the strap of her violin case wrapped over her shoulder, Marinette strode into the living room of her boyfriend's house. Félix was already seated at the grand piano, where his fingers moved lightly along the black and white keys as the entire house exploded with tremendous sound.

The movement of Marinette's figure brushed against the corner of his eyesight. He removed his fingers from the instrument, making his warmup come to a halt. He turned in his stool to face Marinette, who barely even smiled as she lifted her hand in greeting.

"You're fifteen minutes late," Félix pointed out, "Where the hell were you?"

"My parents needed help with remodeling the bakery," Marinette explained, "Sorry for the inconvenience."

The pianist opened his mouth to speak. Before a single sound could leave his lips, a somewhat muted marimba tune sounded through the silent room, accompanied by the harsh resonation of continuous vibrations. Marinette pulled her phone out, holding it to her ear as she answered the call.

"Hi, Mom."

One of Félix's golden eyebrows twitched in annoyance as his girlfriend continued to speak into the phone. He's already wasted enough time waiting for her to arrive. He exhaled a rather audible sigh and rose to his feet.

"I think they're in the cabinet under the sink," Marinette said into the phone, "But if they're not in there, then check the一"

In one quick motion, the phone had been snatched right out of her hand. Gasping, Marinette extended her hand towards Félix in an attempt to grab her phone back. Félix turned away from her as he raised the phone to his ear.

"Sorry, Sabine," Félix said, "We're busy rehearsing here. You can talk to your daughter later."

Marinette angrily reached her arm over his shoulder from behind, "Félix, wait! It's impor一"

Félix pressed the red telephone icon at the bottom of the screen, ending the call. Marinette's mouth dangled open, her eyebrows curling upwards in a pair of arches. Finally, Félix threw her phone back at her. Marinette, being the clumsy young woman she is, just barely managed to catch the mobile device as it bounced in her hands.

"Let's get practicing," Félix mumbled, taking his seat in front of the piano, "We're wasting time."

Marinette's dark blue eyebrows straightened out into a pair of steep, downward slopes. Her bluebell eyes burned with fury as she glared at her stubborn boyfriend. Stubborn was an understatement, though.

"What is wrong with you?!" Marinette snapped, "That was my _mother_ I was talking to!"

"We don't have all the time in the world you know," Félix pointed out, "Just hurry up and get your instrument out."

Marinette's fist clenched around the rough strap over her shoulder, "If you care more about practicing than my own family, then I don't know why I'm even dealing with you."

Félix darted his eyes towards her, lifting one eyebrow.

"Do you realize how ridiculous you sound right now?" Félix asked, raising his voice, "This is _your_ career, Marinette!"

"That doesn't mean I should put it before my family!" Marinette defended.

"Jesus Christ, Marinette. I'm tired of this," Félix growled, standing up from his seat yet again.

Marinette scoffed angrily, " _You're_ tired? How do you think _I_ feel?!"

Félix stopped directly in front of Marinette, his eyes narrowing angrily at her.

"We argue literally everyday now," Félix hissed in annoyance.

"Well, then I guess this will be our last time," Marinette muttered.

Félix's teeth grinded against each other as she turned away from him. His arm extended itself out to her, gripping onto her shoulder. He forcefully shoved her back around to face him. Leaving his hand on her shoulder, his voice became low and grave as he spoke.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

Marinette's eyes fell to the floor, avoiding eye contact with him at all costs. A tight knot tied up inside her chest as she gave him a single, subtle nod.

"Yes," Marinette mumbled silently, "I am."

Félix clenched his free hand into a fist, "What did your redhead friend tell you this time?"

At the sound of his words, Marinette's eyes darted back to his. She lifted a single eyebrow in disbelief, the rage within boiling up even more. Furiously, she grabbed onto his wrist, yanking his hand off her shoulder.

"First of all, she has a name," Marinette snapped, "Second, why are you bringing Alya into this?"

"You know she never liked me to begin with," Félix responded coldly.

"Well, this is between us and only us! She has nothing to do with this!" Marinette yelled, "I don't know why we're still arguing at this point. I'm leaving."

Marinette whipped her body back around, storming away from the living room. Félix clenched his other hand into a fist, his knuckles bleaching white from the tightness in his fingers. Both of his hands trembled violently as he watched her stomp her way across the house.

"Good luck performing without an accompanist next week, then!" Félix shouted angrily.

Marinette's eyes widened to the size of a dinner plate the second her brain processed those words that had been thrown at her. How could she have been so stupid? She completely forgot she had an upcoming performance, which slyly snuck up on her like a snake. Perhaps she should have waited another week before ending their relationship. Gritting her teeth, Marinette took off into a sprint.

Once she was out the door, Marinette threw her violin into the passenger seat of her red and black-spotted bug car. She wiped her angry tears on the back of her hand before twisting her car keys inside the keyhole. The engine stuttered to life, causing her seat to vibrate underneath her. Without taking a single glance back at the house, Marinette lowered her parking brake and entered the street.

Her hands gripped themselves around the steering wheel as she drove her way down the road. Thoughts buzzed around her head like a massive swarm of angry bees, too many thoughts to even describe. From the breakup with Félix to her upcoming performance, all of it was just一

Marinette gasped and slammed her foot down on her brakes at the sight of two male figures crossing the street. Her tires screeched unpleasantly against the rough concrete, the seatbelt clenching tightly around her body as she nearly fell forward from the powerful impact of her sudden stop. The two males, Adrien and Nino, stared at her with their eyes wide as if their feet had been glued to the ground. Trembling slightly, Marinette rolled down her window and stuck her head out.

"Sorry, guys!"

"You're good!" Adrien called back.

Nino grabbed onto Adrien's elbow, pulling him along as the two of them continued their way across the street. Marinette waited until the boys reached the other sidewalk before lifting her foot off the brakes.

**~•~**

Her chopsticks clenched a strand of noodles between them. She lifted the noodles to her face, blowing on the warm steam of the soup that engulfed them. Just as the salty strands brushed against her lips, a loud ding emerged from the front of the house.

"It's open!" Marinette called out.

The doorknob turned with a click as the door swung open. Alya stepped inside the house, closing the door behind her. She stepped up to the table, where Marinette sat with noodles hanging from her mouth.

"Girl, are you okay?" Alya asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You haven't answered a single call or text message ever since you broke up with Félix two days ago," Alya responded, "And from the looks of it, you've been cooped up in your house living off of instant ramen as well."

Alya's eyes scanned Marinette's appearance, where her dark hair had been tied into a messy and frizzy bun. Visible purple spots smudged underneath her eyes, and she was dressed in a pair of light gray sweatpants and a black, oversized sweatshirt that looked as if it hadn't been thrown into the washing machine for months.

"By the way, you should start locking your door when you're home," Alya added.

"I lock it when I go to sleep, don't worry."

With a sigh, Alya pulled out the chair right next to her and took a seat. Marinette continued her meal as if she had never been interrupted.

"There's something else other than the Félix stuff that's bothering you," Alya stated, "Isn't there?"

Marinette perked up in her seat, "How did you know?"

"Don't pretend I didn't know you since middle school," Alya said, rolling her eyes whilst smiling, "Now tell me, what's the problem?"

Marinette's fingers released the pair of chopsticks, allowing the tip the two sticks to sink into her bowl of ramen. Then, Marinette was on her feet at the speed of light, slapping her palms flat on the table so hard that the large piece of polished wood trembled underneath her weight.

"I'm an idiot and completely forgot I had a performance next week!" Marinette screeched like a pterodactyl riding a rollercoaster, "And now I don't have an accompanist!"

Alya leaned into her seat, taken aback by Marinette's unpredicted upheaval. The redhead stepped up to her best friend, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"This is a disaster, Alya!" Marinette wailed, "What am I gonna do?!"

"Well, why don't you try looking for a new one?" Alya suggested, "Or, if it comes to it, just be a badass and play without one."

Marinette groaned as she sank back down to her seat. Alya's lips tugged downwards into a frown, her eyes traveling constantly between the bowl of ramen and the stressed-out (most likely sleep deprived) musician.

"You should fix your hair and get dressed once you're done eating," Alya said, "You look like you could use some time outside."

"Fine."

Marinette blew her midnight bangs out of her face, allowing them to fall back over her eyes. Her fingers brushed her bangs behind her ear as her other hand regained its hold on her chopsticks.

~

Alya and Marinette sat down at the coffee shop, same table and same drinks as last time. Marinette stared down at the white lid of her beverage, the heat of its contents melting into her hands.

"Your drink's gonna get cold if you don't drink it soon," Alya said.

"I will soon," Marinette looked up from her cup, "It's too hot right now."

From the corner of her eyes, Adrien's figure walked past their table with another boy by his side. Marinette turned her full attention to him and the red capped boy, watching as they made their way towards the small piano in the corner of the shop.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be making drinks right now?" Nino asked.

Adrien shrugged, "The shop's nearly empty today. Besides, this thing hasn't been played in a while. I just want to see how it sounds."

The blond lifted the tablecloth from the instrument, revealing a row of large, pearly white keys with smaller, jet black keys in between. Adrien took a seat in front of the instrument, relaxing his fingers onto the keys. His fingers pressed down onto the instrument, emitting a thick chord to vibrate through the entire shop. He then moved his fingers along the keys, creating a blissful melody from the combination of notes.

With her drink hovering near her lips, Marinette's eyes sparked at the sight of the pianist. She lowered the beverage back down to the table, watching in awe as the musician played his tune. Alya turned in her seat, watching the pianist like the rest of the few visitors.

"I never knew he played piano," Marinette breathed, "Maybe he can be my accompanist."

Alya turned back around to face Marinette, "Get a closer look at him, he's definitely related to Félix. They look _way_ too similar to not be related."

Marinette rose from her seat, not taking her eyes off the pianist for even a mere second.

"Well, I don't have much of a choice," Marinette said, "Besides, it will be just for this one time."

Alya's eyes followed Marinette, watching from her seat as the bluenette strolled across the coffee shop.

Marinette nervously approached the two boys, fidgeting with her hands right in front of her. Adrien, upon seeing this, looked up at her. His hands stopped running along the keys, ceasing its melodies.

"Hey," Marinette smiled, "Sorry for interrupting."

"No worries, Girl Who Almost Ran Over Me The Other Day," Adrien chuckled, "You know, if I were you, I would have一"

The side of Nino's fist pummeled into the back of Adrien's head, cutting off his initial speech. Adrien rubbed the back of his head to soothe the tingling throb that came as a result.

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence," Nino said, "Let's not make jokes like that here."

"Sorry," Adrien mumbled.

Nino turned to Marinette, "Anyways, did you want something?"

"Yeah, actually," Marinette said, looking at Adrien, "I wanted to ask if you would be interested in being my accompanist?"

Adrien's eyebrows shot upwards. He slowly lowered his hand, darting his eyes rapidly between Marinette and Nino. His trembling lips parted while his mind fought to figure out the right words to say.

Did he hear that correctly? Marinette, the musician he strongly admired, just asked him to be her accompanist?

He wasn't dreaming... Right?

"I... Uh..."

"He'd love to," Nino answered for him.

Adrien gasped, shooting his eyes to his best friend, "Nino一"

"Great!" Marinette exclaimed, handing him a small slip of thick paper, "There's my card, it has my address and contact info on it."

"Woah, wait a minute," Adrien said, "What about my cousin? Isn't he already your accompanist?"

"It's a long story, but he's not anymore," Marinette answered, not wanting to elaborate, "Anyways, are you free to rehearse at my place any time tomorrow?"

Adrien shrugged, "Sure, I guess."

"Cool," Marinette took a step back, "I'll see you then!"

And with that, the midnight-haired girl turned away from them. Adrien's mouth hung open as his eyes landed on the card in his hands, trembling in disbelief. Nino perched his elbow on one of Adrien's shoulders and eyed the card as well.

"Did that... Really just happen?" Adrien asked.

Nino nodded, "Want me to punch you to make sure it's not a dream?"

Adrien laughed as he shook his head back and forth.

"I'm good."

Although, he still had a hard time believing it. He didn't even see himself as a good musician, yet somehow he was soon to be accompanying Marinettte like he had dreamed of doing.


	4. Adagio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT AN: I've added a small but very important change to the first chapter, so please go back and reread just the first 3 paragraphs of the last scene (where Adrien visits the grave) for a better understanding of this chapter :)
> 
> Also, I might change my update schedule on this site to Saturday. I hope that's okay! :D

** IV. Adagio **

_Adagio can either be a tempo marking or a movement of a piece, instructing the musician(s) to play at a relatively slow, relaxed pace._

**~•~**

A girl with short, dark hair stood in the middle of the park, facing the fountain as the massive waters crashed downwards. Tiny droplets of water misted into her face, cooling her down on this sunny but cold day.

Adrien stood in the distance, gazing at the thin figure of his ex who had her back turned to him. The wind ruffled through her clothes, blowing her short locks in multiple directions. His chest tightened at the sight of her, remembering all the moments they've had in the three years they've been together. Running into her was the last thing he expected to do today. Maybe it was wrong to look at her, but it was so hard to look away.

She was still as stunning as ever.

Clenching his fists, Adrien stepped towards her. She hadn't noticed his presence, as the roaring waters drowned out the soft thud of his footsteps. Adrien now stood at her side, leaving a few feet of distance between them. He silently cleared his throat before speaking to her.

"Kagami?"

The brown-eyed woman perked up at the sound of her own name. She turned her head to the direction of his voice, where her sight took in a head of somewhat spiky, golden blond hair and the verdant eyes she used to love.

"What are you doing here?" Kagami asked.

Adrien shrugged, "I was going for a walk and I saw you standing here, so I just wanted to say hi."

Kagami's lips tugged downwards, "You still have feelings for me, don't you?"

Adrien shifted his eyes to the coin-filled water of the fountain, watching as violent ripples and splashes formed as a result of water crashing against water. Kagami didn't need words to know the answer to that question, it was written all over his face.

"I think it's time for you to change your target," Kagami sighed, "What we had is over, and I'm sorry it ended one-sidedly. But I'd rather end our relationship than pretend I was still in love with you."

"Thank you for your honesty," Adrien mumbled.

"I do think you're a great person, Adrien," Kagami continued, "Maybe we were meant to be, but not meant to last. Do you get what I'm saying? You need to move on."

Finally, Adrien drew his eyes back to her, taking in the sight of tiny, light brown freckles dotting horizontally across the bridge of her nose and underneath her eyes. He shifted his body to fully face her, extending a hand out towards her.

"Can we still be friends?"

Kagami blinked a single time, taken aback by this unexpected request. Those were the last words she would expect to hear coming from him, especially after she had broken up with him. Her sepia irises traveled from his face down to his waiting hand. Cracking the smallest smile, Kagami gave in and placed her hand in his.

"That's fine with me."

Adrien returned her smile. Him and Kagami have been good friends all throughout university, going through thick and thin together. If he could at least keep his friendship with her, that was good enough.

After all, like Kagami said, he needed to change targets.

**~•~**

"So, what exactly are you playing these pieces for?" Adrien asked, shuffling through the pages of sheet music.

"Just some gig at a restaurant," Marinette answered.

The blue-haired violinist lifted her instrument to her shoulder, resting her bow parallel to the bridge. Her left hand extended towards the scroll of her violin, allowing her fingers to clip onto the pegs. The clear and vibrant sound of perfect fifths rang loudly through the room as she adjusted her tuning. Adrien's eyes scanned through the set of horizontal lines and notes, silently tapping his fingers on the desired keys as he waited for her to finish.

"Are you ready?" Marinette asked.

Adrien fingered his first chord, then gave the violinist a nod. She inhaled a loud, audible breath through her nose, lifting her scroll at the eighth note tempo she intended to play at. Her bow dragged downwards on the string, emitting a rich and powerful resonation filled with her usual wide, emotional vibrato.

Adrien's eyes followed along with the violin part written above his accompanist part. Without forewarning, his eyes came across a whole run of sixteenth notes. Internal panic heated his face, causing his fingers to grow tense as he attempted to keep up with her tempo. At that moment, he had been so focused on his own part that he forgot to listen to the soloist.

He thought he knew what he was doing. But in reality, he was completely lost at this point.

Marinette looked at her accompanist through the corner of her eye, twitching a brow in annoyance. This was an absolute trainwreck. Not only was he missing some notes, but he was dragging behind by at least five measures. And yet, he continued to play as if he wasn't paying attention to her at all.

The violinist lifted her bow off the string. Adrien, upon noticing this, retracted his fingers from the black and white keys of the piano. The last note he played vibrated thinly through the air, slowly diminishing its volume with each passing moment. Like a diminuendo from mezzo piano to pianissimo. 

And then it faded into nothing.

Adrien turned to face her and tilted his head to the side.

"Why did you stop?"

Marinette lightly tightened her grip around the frog of her bow, annoyed by this new accompanist. Was he being serious?

Well, he was related to Félix after all. What was she to expect?

"You're not staying with me," Marinette snapped.

Unintentionally, her fingers loosened around her bow, allowing it to land on the wooden floor with a loud clatter that echoed along the walls of her living room. Not bothering to pick it up, Marinette kept her eyes glued to the pianist as she continued speaking.

"Haven't you been told that the accompanist follows the soloist?"

A frown tugged at Adrien's lips. He exhaled a sigh as he rose from his seat in front of the piano. Adrien stepped away from the instrument, making his way towards her. Without taking even a brief glance at her, the accompanist leaned down with his left hand extended towards the floor. He draped his fingers over the frog of the bow, careful not to let his fingers brush against the bow hair. The bow dangled from his left hand as he rose back up, standing with his back turned to her.

"I'm sorry for not following you," Adrien muttered, "I'm not doing it on purpose."

Adrien glanced at her over his left shoulder, where a heavy downpour tapped repeatedly against the window right behind her like a machine gun.

"I swear."

Marinette's lips parted slightly, her eyes blinking a single time. The annoyance that had once been present in her eyes faded away, being replaced with... Confusion? Regret? Maybe there wasn't even a word to describe her shift in emotions.

Keeping his semi-turned position, Adrien darted his eyes away from her as he continued to speak.

"I've never played with another musician before," Adrien sighed and turned his head down, "I've never been an accompanist. It's all sort of... New to me."

Adrien looked back at the blue-haired violinist, shooting her a rather sad smile. His shoulders lifted into a shrug as he turned around and held the bow vertically out in front of her. Marinette's eyes widened slightly, glancing from the beige, rosin-dusted bow hair in front of her to the viridescent irises of the accompanist.

His lips curled into a soft smile as his eyes collided with hers, like sapphires against emeralds. Her eyes closely examined the thousands of green harp strings that made up his eye color, circling around the pitch black orbs of his pupils.

The gray color that Adrien saw in her eyes began to grow lighter the longer he looked into them. A tiny hint of blue broke through his colorless vision, filling up the circular area inside her white sclerae and strengthening its hue with every passing second. Like the visual representation of a crescendo.

The color of her irises have reached their full potential, and Adrien found himself staring straight into a whole new world of cerulean. A soft and gentle inferno ignited inside his stomach, followed by light but rapid thumps hitting repeatedly against the inside of his chest.

A roar of thunder blared in ear-splitting fortissimo outside her window, followed by a brief flicker of white light passing through the glass. Marinette blinked, as if the clamorous roar had brought her back to reality. Keeping her eyes locked onto his, she slowly extended her hand out. Her fingertips lightly brushed against his as her hand approached the bow. Finally, her fingers wrapped themselves around the stick of her bow, pulling it back towards her.

Her eyes had not broken from their semi-widened state as she blinked once more. Still standing with her body towards him, her eyes glanced down at the bow in her hand. A panicked gasp entered her lungs at the sight of her palm pressing against her bow hair. She quickly retracted her hand, causing the bow to clatter to the floor once again.

Adrien's mouth opened slightly, his eyebrows raising above his widened eyes. A small chuckle came out of his lips, building up into a whole joyous fit of laughter. His chest and shoulders shook from his lively cackles, a bright feeling he never thought he would experience again.

Who ever thought it would, ironically, be on such a stormy day?

Marinette's cheeks rouged from embarrassment, her lips curling downwards at the edges. However, the sound of his laughter rang against her eardrums like music, spreading that joyous experience to herself as she let out a number of small giggles.

Adrien's laughter came to a cease as he recollected himself and straightened his posture. As he looked back at her, his smile faded almost immediately. And so did her eye color, which had returned to the gloomy color of gray.

Just like the storm clouds outside.

"I should go home before the weather gets worse," Adrien said, "If you don't want to, then I'll一"

"I'll give you another chance," Marinette interrupted, "I'm sorry if I was harsh on you. We can keep rehearsing together if you want. Maybe I can even help you improve as an accompanist."

Adrien blinked once. Silence of speech fell between them, giving way for the wet monsoon to clatter its millions of large raindrops against the gutter.

"Alright, then," Adrien smiled, "See you tomorrow."

Without another word, the blond pianist turned away from her. Marinette silently lifted a hand in a slight waving gesture, watching as Adrien strode towards the front door. He stepped out into the pouring rain, closing the heavy door behind him with a soft thud.

And then she was left alone with nothing but the sound of raindrops.

"Yeah," Marinette said under her breath, "Tomorrow."

~

"Today I laughed for what felt like the first time in ten years."

Adrien's lips formed a tiny smile as he stared down at the two gravestones. The jet black canopy of his umbrella was spread out above his head, absorbing the sound of bouncing raindrops. The raindrops raced each other down the smooth fabric, dripping over the edge of the canopy as they absorbed into the grass beside his feet.

"I don't know what it is about her," Adrien continued, "But just her little moment of clumsiness made me laugh like there was no tomorrow."

Adrien sighed happily as thoughts of the bluenette flooded through him.

"And you remember how I was scared of thunder, right?" Adrien asked, "Well, it didn't scare me this time. It's like... Just her presence was enough to comfort me through it."

Adrien glanced down at Emilie's gravestone. He stepped in front of his mother's drenched rock, sinking down with his feet planted to the ground and his knees bent. His hand reached out to the letters that spelled out her name, tracing its smoothness like a toddler just learning how to write letters.

"Just like you did, Mom," Adrien said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

"Adrien?"

Adrien perked up at the sound of his name in the voice he despised hearing. Adrien whipped his head over his shoulder. His pupils compressed to the size of an ant inside his sclerae. His trembling hand gripped tightly around the handle of his umbrella, blanching his cold knuckles. He angrily narrowed his eyes at the unwanted visitor, rising to his feet to face them.

"Why are you here, Félix?"

"I came to visit my father," Félix replied calmly, "I didn't expect to see you here today."

"Actually, I was just about to leave," Adrien mumbled.

Fighting the urge to land a fist in his cousin's face, Adrien stepped around Félix. Their shoulders and umbrellas bumped into one another as Adrien shoved past him, continuing his path away from the cemetery.

Without looking back at his cousin, Félix knelt down in front of the two gravestones, taking Adrien's place. His eyes traveled between the stones as a heavy weight sank to his stomach.

"I'm sorry, Uncle," Félix muttered, "And Auntie." 


	5. Scherzo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up: this chapter and the next one may be a bit boring and I apologize >-< I promise it will get more interesting after the next chapter (in which I may update early next week just to get it out of the way, but we'll see. I try to stay at least 10 chapters ahead of what I publish in order to keep my updates consistent)
> 
> Anyways, enjoy! :D

**V. Scherzo**

_Often_ _used_ _to_ _label_ _a_ _movement_ _of_ _a_ _piece_ _,_ _scherzo_ _(_ _SKAERT•zoh_ _)_ _indicates_ _that_ _the_ _movement_ _is_ _played_ _at_ _a_ _fast_ _tempo_ _._

**~•~**

"Dude, go to sleep!" Nino yelled over the explosive vibrations of chords and melodies, "It's two in the morning and I can hear your piano from across the street!"

One of Adrien's eyes twitched. He drew his hands away from the keys, halting every solid sound in the room.

"Marinette said I need to practice forty hours a day."

"I can't tell whether you're drunk or stupid," Nino sighed, stepping up to the instrument, "Don't take her words literally. There are only twenty-four hours a day, you idiot!"

Adrien's head hung loosely, shielding his face underneath his sandy-colored hair. The barely audible sound of his soft and steady breathing filled the room. Nino glanced at the grand piano, where a row of empty glass bottles sat on top of it.

Yep, he was definitely drunk.

A foul chord erupted from the instrument, each note fighting against one another in a combination of unpleasant vibrations. Nino looked back at his drunk friend, who was now hunched over with his head resting on the keys. Adrien's eyes remained closed as his chest rose and fell in sync with his breathing.

"You've been her accompanist for five days, and she turned you into a practice-holic," Nino mumbled silently, "Great."

Nino turned away from the sleeping pianist, striding towards the doorway. His hand turned the light switch down, submerging the room in complete darkness.

~

The strong, sweet smell of coffee touched her nostrils as Alya stepped through the doorway of the coffee shop. She took a couple steps inside the building with her laptop clenched between her arms and chest. Her eyes traveled around the rather crowded shop, darting from table to table in an attempt to find an empty seat. A line of customers extended all the way to the entrance as people entered and exited the shop.

Her sense of vision landed on a table near the back, where a certain boy wearing a red baseball cap sat in front of what looked like a tablet attached to a silicone keyboard. She has talked to him a few times ever since Adrien and Marinette started working together, but they've never quite gotten past introducing each other.

Alya strode across the floor, squeezing through tight spaces between tables on her way towards her destination. Nino hadn't noticed her, as he looked rather concentrated on his screen. Alya straightened her posture as she glanced down at him.

"Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" Alya asked, "I'll be quiet, don't worry."

Nino nodded, not taking his eyes off his screen, "Go ahead."

Alya pulled out the chair across from him, setting her laptop on the table as she took her seat. Before she could even crack open her laptop, her eyes landed on a penguin sticker that had been attached to the back of Nino's tablet. Her lips parted at the sight as her eyes darted constantly between the sticker and Nino. She did say she would be quiet, but she couldn't help it. Not with that penguin sticker staring at her.

"Is that a Super Penguino sticker on your tablet?"

Nino took his eyes off his screen. He pushed his glasses up his nose, then nodded at her with a smile.

"Adrien sometimes makes fun of me for playing it," Nino laughed, "I don't really care, though."

Alya reciprocated his laugh, "Same with Marinette."

"I have it on my tablet if you want to play for a bit," Nino offered, "If you're not too busy of course."

Alya's eyes sparked with excitement at the sound of his words. Without hesitation, the ombre-haired woman scooted into the seat right next to him. Nino unclipped his tablet from the keyboard and placed it between them, allowing Alya to grab a hold of the other end.

The bell jingled at the entrance. Marinette stepped inside the shop, where her midnight-colored hair had been tied up into a high ponytail. A slightly older-looking boy with blue tips in his dark hair followed her path inside the coffee shop.

"It's a bit more crowded than it usually is," Marinette said, scanning her eyes through the shop, "Now where is一"

"Hey, Marinette."

Marinette and the blue-haired boy both whipped their heads over their shoulders. Behind them stood Adrien, who held his hand up in greeting. Marinette waved subtly at him.

"This is Luka," Marinette said, gesturing to her blue-haired friend, "He's in town for a couple weeks, so I decided to bring him here."

Luka extended his hand towards the blond. Adrien placed his hand in his, returning the handshake as he introduced himself.

"So, do you come here often?" Luka asked, retracting his hand.

"Well, I work here," Adrien laughed, "So the answer would be yes."

"Luka happens to be a pretty great musician himself," Marinette added excitedly.

A light pink tint crept upon his cheeks as Luka lightly jammed his elbow into her upper arm, forming a small smile at her compliment.

"I'm nowhere near as good as you are, though," Luka said, "You're the one who's practically famous. A prodigy if I must say."

"Come on, you've seen me try to play your guitar," Marinette giggled, "We both know that didn't go so well, especially when your mom came to judge my terrible musicianship."

Luka's eyebrows darted upwards, "Okay, maybe you can't play guitar. But did you just say 'terrible musicianship'?"

"Yes I did."

"I think you mispronounced 'amazing'."

"More like 'wannabe'."

Adrien's smile faltered at Luka and Marinette's somewhat flirty conversation, which continued on in the background. His eyes pointed to the blue-haired boy, slightly narrowed with his eyebrows crinkled. Luka and Marinette broke into a brief moment of simultaneous laughter before finally turning back to Adrien.

"Sorry," Luka apologized, "We didn't mean to leave you out like that."

Adrien drew his eyes off of Luka and rubbed the back of his burning neck, "No worries."

"Hey, Adrien!" One of the workers called from behind the counter, "Quit standing around and give us a hand over here!"

Adrien nodded at his coworker, shooting him a thumbs up from across the room. He turned back to the blue-haired pair in front of him.

"Looks like I'm being summoned," Adrien gestured to the counter before looking at Marinette, "I'm guessing you want your usual matcha latte sub coconut milk with chocolate syrup and whipped cream?"

Marinette nodded in response, "I'm impressed you still remember that."

"Yeah, well..." Adrien turned away from the pair, "Anyways, I'll get that going for you."

Adrien squeezed past Luka and Marinette, cutting through the line of customers until he disappeared from sight. Marinette tugged on Luka's sleeve as she pointed across the room to the table where Alya and Nino sat.

"Let's go join Alya over there."

Meanwhile behind the counter, Adrien tied on a neon green apron over his black shirt. The movement of the blue-haired pair brushed against the corner of his sight, drawing his attention to them. Adrien watched as Marinette and Luka took their seats next to Alya and Nino, the sound of their conversation blurring out over the other sounds of the coffee shop.

Adrien's hand reached for an empty coffee cup. He proceeded to work on Marinette's order, shooting a subtle glance at the table once in a while. Adrien clipped the lid onto the steaming cup and walked over to the pickup station. His eyes fell back upon Luka and Marinette, who now sat hunched close with a phone out in front of them. Like they were taking a picture together. Or, perhaps, a couple of pictures. The two of them retracted the phone, laughing as they scrolled through the newly taken photos.

Although, the sight of seeing her so happy did lift Adrien up. The way her eyes crinkled like crescent moons and how her cheekbones formed was enough to flourish a gentle warmth inside him. With a smile like that, even the sun would be jealous.

However, at that moment, he couldn't help but wish he was in Luka's place.

He wanted to be the reason for her smile.

~

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Marinette asked as she lifted the whistling kettle off her stove.

"Some spots can still be cleaned up on my part, but I'm sure I can get it ready by then."

Adrien stepped up to Marinette, who had her back turned to him. He glanced over her shoulder from behind, his head hovering right next to hers as he watched her pour the steaming water into a teacup. Marinette hadn't noticed his close presence, as she had been too focused on keeping her clumsiness at bay.

"So, what kind of tea do you..."

Marinette's voice trailed off as she turned her head to the side, where Adrien's face hovered just centimeters away from hers. Both of their eyes grew as wide as tennis balls at the realization of the _very_ small distance between them. Adrien's eyes darted downwards to her pale pink lips, taking in their smoothness and the way they parted slightly to reveal a hint of her pearly white teeth underneath. This image made way for a small heat to creep upon his cheeks while certain thoughts flooded through him. If he just leaned in a little closer, then...

Wait, what the hell was he thinking?

Adrien quickly stumbled back, expanding the distance between them by at least three feet. He darted his head to the side, hoping to hide the redness that clouded his cheeks. His hands nervously shoved themselves inside his pockets, where his fingers fidgeted with the fuzzy material that brushed against them.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be standing in your personal space."

Marinette turned back to the front, setting the water-filled cup down.

"It's fine," Marinette picked up the empty cup in front of her and began filling it with water, "Anyways, do you want jasmine, green, or oolong tea?"

"Oolong sounds good," Adrien answered, "By the way, Luka... He seems like a cool guy."

"Oh, he is," Marinette smiled, "We dated for about a year in university, but一wait a minute."

Marinette looked over her shoulder at Adrien, "Are you jealous?"

One of Adrien's eyebrows twitched at her question, "I'm not jealous."

Heavy silence fell between them, so quiet that not even the crickets were chirping. Finally, Adrien gathered up the courage to face her. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as they landed on the hazing kettle and teacup in front of her.

"Watch how much you're pouring!"

A high-pitched yelp came out of Marinette's lips as the scorching liquid spilled over her hand, no doubt scalding her skin like a pool of lava. Her fingers loosened around the handle of the teacup, causing it to hit the ground and break with a messy shatter ringing along the walls. Adrien rushed to the kitchen counter, ripping off a long sheet of napkin from the roll.

"Do you have one of those flat thingy thingies?"

Marinette lifted an eyebrow, "What do you mean 'flat thingy thingy'?"

"I don't know, those... Sweeping things," Adrien grunted and rubbed his temple, "Dust pan, whatever. Just don't touch the glass with your一"

Marinette gasped in pain as a sharp sting pierced through the surface of her right pointer finger. Adrien scurried back to the counter, where he slid a thin strip out of the bandaid box. He rushed to kneel down in front of Marinette, taking her right hand in his. He lifted her finger to his face to examine the cut. A very shallow, bright red line made its way across her finger, just barely breaking any blood.

"Oh, it's not that bad," Adrien sighed in relief.

Peeling the bandaid from its wrapper, Adrien wrapped the sticky appendage around her injured finger. Marinette glanced at his face, her heart rate speeding up slightly at his small gesture. Adrien looked back at her, making their eyes collide while his hands remained attached to hers.

"How's your other hand?" Adrien asked.

Marinette drew her eyes away from his, looking down at her shaky left hand that previously had boiling water spilled all over it.

"It still stings a little bit," Marinette mumbled nervously, "But I think it's okay."

Adrien reached for her other hand, examining the blistering red splotches of her scalded skin. His thumb lightly pressed against it, making Marinette flinch at the small, electrifying spark that resulted from his contact.

"Go run it under some cold water, I'll clean this up for you," Adrien offered, "We can't have you getting injured a third time. Looks like you're more clumsy than I thought."

Adrien laughed lightly as he added that last part. A rosy pink blush snuck up on her cheeks from embarrassment. Wordlessly, Marinette stood up and walked over to the sink on the other side of her kitchen. As she dragged her hand through the chilly rod of running water, she couldn't help but gaze back at him as he picked up her mess.

They've only known each other for a week at most. Yet somehow, she already felt so comfortable around him as if they've known each other for a lifetime.


	6. Caprice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geez, Saturday came quicker than I imagined. School just started last week for me, and I'm taking some of the hardest classes at my school rip (and online too T_T). Not to mention there's a wildfire going on. Forgive me if I have to delay a couple chapters in the future :O
> 
> Anyways, this chapter is kinda sorta filler, but it's important in the development of Adrien and Marinette's relationship. Enjoy :D

** VI. Caprice **

_A_ _caprice_ _,_ _also_ _called_ _"_ _capriccio_ _",_ _is_ _a_ _music_ _composition_ _that_ _is_ _full_ _of_ _energy_ _,_ _humorous_ _in_ _character_ _,_ _and_ _is_ _played_ _rather_ _freely_ _._

**~•~**

Alya and Nino sat amongst the crowd, watching in awe as the two musicians dressed in black shared their music. The vibrant and lustrous sound of the bow gliding against the gut-core strings buzzed around the entirety of the room, bringing chills and tingles to anyone who heard it. The bright smiles that were visibly plastered on both of their faces only added to the audience's enjoyment, bringing the music to life.

From onstage, Adrien instinctively glanced up from his music. His eyes sparkled brilliantly with admiration at the sight of the dark-haired musician performing in front of him. He was impressed at how she played so effortlessly even after scalding her hand yesterday. Almost as if it never even happened.

He just couldn't take his eyes off of her, they practically begged him not to. The way her left hand vibrated back and forth along the fingerboard in a wide but relaxed motion, how the scintillating yellow light shined upon her figure like she was an angel sent straight from heaven, all of it was impossible to ignore.

She was beautiful.

Marinette glanced over at him, causing their eyes to meet from a distance. She cued a new, slower tempo with her body. The two of them reached a ritardando together and dramatically slowed down the tempo as they neared the end of their piece.

With one large, downwards stroke of her bow, the musicians landed on their finishing chords. The yellow stagelight passed through tiny particles of rosin dust ascending into the air like a thin haze.

Adrien released his fingers after playing that last chord and kept his hands hovering close above the keys. His foot pressed against the damper pedal, letting the chord sing for an extended time. Marinette lifted her bow slightly off the strings while her instrument remained on her shoulder. The crisp and clear combination of notes still lingered thinly through the air. Two of her fingers rolled back and forth along different strings in a very light vibrato motion, giving color to that final ring.

Finally, the violinist lowered her bow and instrument, signaling the accompanist to release his foot from the pedal. Marinette faced the audience with a smile, dipping her head into a bow as they broke into applause.

Her eyes landed briefly on her black shoes, then shifted back to the bright and fancy atmosphere of the restaurant as she rose back up. The rather large audience full of well-dressed customers had all risen to their feet. Each of their hands clapped at different tempos, giving the room a slightly chaotic yet astonishing atmosphere.

The violinist turned to the side and gestured to the pianist with her palm facing upwards. At her hand gesture, Adrien stood up from his seat, faced the audience with his full body, and dipped his blond head to mimic her bow.

~

"You two did amazing!"

As they approached the table, the two musicians found themselves simultaneously engulfed in a pair of tight arms. Alya released her arms from around them before they even had time to return the hug. The ombre-haired girl turned to Marinette, where her hands clasped themselves onto her shoulders.

"For once it looked like you were genuinely having fun," Alya commented, "In your previous performances, I could tell it was just an act."

"Because I really did have fun this time," Marinette smiled as she looked at her accompanist, "I guess this means we're officially partners, then."

Adrien returned her smile with a nod. Originally, Marinette had planned to have him be her accompanist for this one time and find a different pianist for the rest of her performances (given his relation to Félix). But over the time they've spent rehearsing together, she quickly learned that Adrien was not like Félix at all.

When she played with Félix, it seemed more like she was the one following him rather than the other way around. She was petrified of making a mistake in front of him, it was as if she had no control over her own music. Like she was just an emotionless automaton doing what she was programmed to do. She could feel her love for music diminishing as time went on, like playing music was more of an exhausting chore than her passion. Oftentimes, she even questioned whether music was really the right path for her. Her freedom that came with music was gone, too.

But Adrien gave the opposite effect. Now, she did not want to perform with anyone else. Not only had he learned to follow her perfectly despite the little time they'd spent rehearsing together, but a peculiarly new feeling seemed to spark within her. Whenever she played with him, she felt as if her love for music had increased more and more. Her music was now reviving thanks to him, like she had rediscovered her purpose for music.

Like she had regained her freedom and control, no longer an artificially intelligent android under command.

**~•~**

Adrien settled down on the couch, watching as the midnight-haired musician took a seat in front of her piano. Her violin case sat open on the coffee table in front of him, revealing what must be an old and highly expensive Stradivarius.

"By the way, feel free to judge my playing," Marinette shuffled through a book of piano pieces, "I haven't played piano in a while."

"Hey, wanna try switching instruments?" Adrien suggested and stood up from the couch.

Marinette looked at him, allowing her head to tilt to the side.

"What for?"

Adrien shrugged, "I don't know, just for fun."

"Alright. But if you break my violin, you owe me three hundred grand."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Marinette took her expensive wooden instrument from its case and held it out for Adrien to take. The pianist placed the instrument on his shoulder with his wrist pressing flat against the neck of the violin. He constantly shifted the instrument around his shoulder in an attempt to find a comfortable position.

"This is uncomfortable," Adrien commented, "How do you even hold this thing?"

Marinette laughed as she fixed his sacrilegious posture. She straightened his left wrist and tucked his elbow underneath the instrument. Adrien stared at the instrument as it rested underneath his chin, taking in the sight of its four strings extending towards his face.

Marinette placed the bow in his right hand, adjusting his hand position to allow his fingers to slant towards the stick of the bow. Lastly, she moved his pinky so that it resided on its tiptoe near the end of the grip. Once she was satisfied with his bow hold, Marinette led the bow to one of the lower strings.

"How do I vibrato?" Adrien asked.

"Let's not get into that yet," Marinette suggested with a giggle.

Marinette let go of his bow hand and took a small step back. Adrien hesitantly dragged the bow along a string, emitting an excruciatingly high-pitched screech to buzz in both of their ears. Both of them trembled from the foul vibrations as Adrien placed a finger down on the string to play more notes, which came out scratchier than a cat using a scratching post.

" _Interesting_ _,_ " Adrien stopped moving the bow, "It looks hard to play fast on this."

Marinette laughed, "Well, if you can play it slowly, you can play it quickly."

Of course, she wasn't being serious there.

"The smallest step on the fingerboard is like a whole octave," Adrien said jokingly, "I don't get how you can play in tune with this instrument."

"At least I'm not having you play a viola."

"You mean those bigger violins?" Adrien asked, "The ones that are basically firewood?"

"Yeah, those," Marinette responded, "You would just have to see the bow moving to know it's out of tune."

Both of the musicians broke into a fit of cheerful, euphoric laughter. It's been one day since their first performance together, and they were already making fun of violas. With her lips spread into a smile, Marinette used her finger to wipe away a stray tear of joy.

They were idiots.

~•~

Marinette sat down at the coffee shop with Alya and Nino, who had their eyes glued to Nino's tablet. Her usual latte stood next to her laptop while her earbuds dangled from her ears. While she worked on writing a new piece, her eyes couldn't help but sneak a glance at Adrien here and there. Ever since that performance, the two of them have been growing closer with each moment they spent together. Luckily for her, he was too busy working to notice whenever she looked at him.

Little did she know that he was also doing the same, looking up from his work to take a brief glance at her once in a while. It was practically impossible not to, his eyes would always find their way to her no matter how hard he tried.

As her eyes attached themselves back to her screen, a low rumbling emerged from inside her stomach, accompanied by a tight clenching pain on the sides of her abdomen. Her face scrunched up as she retracted one hand from her laptop and gripped her arm over her painfully churning stomach. She looked at the lidded drink that sat on the right hand side of her laptop, then up to the workers behind the counter. Her eyes landed on Adrien again, who looked at her with concern written all over his face.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Alya's voice asked, "You look like you're in pain."

"I think someone put milk in my drink," Marinette answered.

The shop was empty enough for those words to reach Adrien. Slightly annoyed, the blond stepped out from behind the counter and strode over to the table. He stopped right next to Marinette, where his presence caught the attention of all three of his friends.

"Can I see your receipt?" Adrien requested, "If you still have it."

Marinette handed him a thin piece of paper, to which he took without a word. His eyes briefly skimmed through the words written on it. He then turned his eyes back to the counter, shooting a rather small glare at one of his male coworkers.

"I'm assuming you're lactose intolerant," Adrien smiled softly at Marinette, "Please excuse me while I go punch my coworker in the face for putting milk in your drink."

He tossed the receipt back on the table, earning a small laugh from Marinette with his words. Marinette smiled at him as he walked away from the table, disappearing behind the counter to confront his said coworker. Of course, he didn't actually deck his coworker in the face like he said he would (he would most likely get fired if he did). Unless he planned on doing it after hours, who knows?

Marinette hadn't realized she was unconsciously staring at Adrien until Alya's voice spoke up, breaking her out of her short daydream.

"Did something happen between you and Adrien that I don't know about?"

"And me," Nino butt in.

Marinette blinked at their suspicions, "What?"

Alya and Nino both chuckled at her response. They lowered the tablet that they previously held between them. Marinette leaned back in her seat as the two of them both shot her a smirk.

"There's something going on between you two," Alya suspected, "Isn't there?"

Marinette laughed in response, "No way! Don't be silly, Alya. Adrien's just an accompanist."

Nino folded his arms over his chest. He leaned his back against his seat as he eyed Adrien from the corner of his vision for a brief moment. A small smile curled his lips upwards as he looked back at Marinette. His voice resonated just barely louder than a whisper as he spoke.

"You should have seen the way he looked at you during your performance."

Marinette's lips parted slightly at the sound of those words. She looked back at Adrien for what must have been the one thousandth time that day. The blond barista looked up from his work just in time to catch her eyes. Adrien smiled and shot her a quick wave. Smiling, Marinette held her hand up to return his wave. She turned back to Alya and Nino, then laughed lightly under her breath.

"I'm sure it's just because he loves music and I'm a musician."

Alya and Nino both clenched their fists tightly to keep themselves from slapping their palms into their faces. Alya twitched an eyebrow in slight annoyance.

"Whatever you say," She mumbled quietly.

Without bothering to say another word, Alya and Nino picked the tablet back up to resume playing their game. They've decided to let it go for now, it wasn't in their place to interfere with Adrien and Marinette. And, from the looks of it, moving into a new relationship wasn't the best idea for either of them considering they both recently got out of one. They were both pretty much pros at hiding their emotions, so it was difficult to tell whether they've moved on or not.

But right now, they both needed to take time for themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.s. on another note, I entered this fic into an MLB contest on Wattpad recently. I'm nervous, it's my first time joining a contest :O I'm not entering to win, though. I'm mainly doing it for constructive criticism. And I'm always open to constructive criticism from any readers as well ^^ (just don't be mean)


	7. Air

** VII. Air **

_Popular_ _in_ _the_ _17th_ _century_ _,_ _an_ _air_ _(_ _also_ _called_ _"_ _ayre_ _"_ _or_ _"_ _aria_ _")_ _is_ _a_ _musical_ _composition_ _that_ _consists_ _of_ _elegant_ _,_ _repeated_ _melodies_ _and_ _are_ _often_ _accompanied_ _by_ _a_ _lute_ _._

**~•~**

_"What is your favorite color, Adrien?"_

_Adrien gazed over the never ending field of flowers, shimmering brightly underneath the brilliant rays of the sun. All around him, petals of pink, purple, blue, green, yellow, and practically any color in existence were scattered across the land. He glanced towards his left shoulder, where a beautiful woman with his identical hair and eye colors smiled at him. She held in her hands what looked like a white flower, showing off its hundreds of petals._

_Adrien looked away from her, staring back at the variegation of the flower field. A very gentle gust of air skimmed against his face, brushing his hair back as it rode the wind like a sailboat. The flowers around him followed the same path as his hair, their stems bending along with the wind._

_"That's a rather hard question," Adrien answered, "Each color has its own meaning and tone."_

_Loose petals of various different colors ripped off from some of the flowers, blowing with the wind. A few of these little petals made their way to his sunny hair and latched themselves onto his locks._

_"Sounds to me like you're indecisive about it," A male voice rang from his other side._

_Adrien turned his head to the direction of this other voice, where a rather tall man with glasses and gray hair sat. Adrien's hand reached behind him to rub the back of his neck. He opened his mouth to speak, but his words had been cut-off by an ear-piercing gunshot. His head darted back to his mother, who now had a bright red trail racing down the side of her face. The white flower in her hand had a vermillion stain on it, too. It was then that it occurred to him what kind of flower it was._

_A chrysanthemum, the flower of death._

_A gasp sucked into his lungs while his eyes grew wide. Next thing he knew, Emilie's green eyes shifted into pitch blackness like someone possessed by a demon. The blood running down her face dripped from her jaw, landing on the flowers below her. A patch of what had once been brightly colored flowers grew tainted with black as they shifted into the shape of roses. This blackness spread exponentially through the field, slowly taking away its color and brightness._

_"Mom, what_ 一 _"_

_Another gunshot pounded against his eardrums, this time from his other side. His head darted towards his father, who also had blood running down his face. More and more flowers started to grow black, spreading faster with each second that passed. Adrien looked up at the sun, where a number of gloomy gray clouds began to glide over it as they shadowed out its light._

_Adrien's frightened eyes darted in various directions, taking in the millions of black roses that had taken the place of this field. Not a single bright color stood out above this darkness, as if he had lost his ability to see bright colors._

_Other than red._

_His mother's voice spoke, though it did not sound like her at all. Her voice had grown deeper and dragged slowly, severely lacking in the lively energy it once held. It sounded... Dead._

_"Answer our question, Adrien."_

_Adrien's eyes traveled continuously between his two parents, his heart racing like a thousand race horses on a track._

_"What is your favorite color?" Gabriel repeated monotonously._

_Adrien hung his head down. His hands clasped themselves on either side of his head, allowing his fingers to grip into his soft locks of yellow undertones. Emilie and Gabriel's voices flooded through him, repeating their question over and over like robots._

_"I... I don't know," Adrien grunted._

_His fingers gripped his hair so tightly, he swore they could rip the golden strands out of his scalp any minute. Still, his parents' voices did not stop. Adrien rapidly shook his head back and forth as he moved his hands to his ears. His palms clogged against them, making their voices appear blurry as if he had dived underwater._

_"Tell us, Adrien," Emilie's drowned-out voice echoed._

_"We just want to know."_

_"Don't be shy now."_

_Tears burned his eyes like lava, brimming along his eyelids as they fogged up his sight. The field of black roses became nothing but a million black splotches as if it were a photograph taken on a blurry old camera. Adrien closed his eyes tightly, where a pair of twin rivers pooled out from underneath his eyelids and raced down his cheeks like raindrops on the window of a car._

_"I don't know!" Adrien screamed._

~

Adrien's eyes shot open, where he was met with a dark ceiling lying above him. He sat up in his bed, his chest heaving as he inhaled and exhaled through brisk and rapid breaths. His fingers reached up towards his cheek, where they dipped into a pool of warm wetness. He dried his eyes on his sleeve before drawing them to the digital clock on his bedside table. Three in the morning. The starlit sky still radiated a pitch black color around the white crescent moon, and he still had hours before he had to leave for work.

Adrien slipped out from underneath his covers. He grabbed his phone off the table before heading across the room for the doorway. He didn't plan on going back to sleep anytime soon, he feared another nightmare would come and attack his subconscious.

Yellow light flickered on as Adrien stepped inside the bathroom. He placed his phone down on the counter and examined the boy on the other side of the glass, staring back at him with purple smudges underneath his rather dull eyes. The sclerae of his eyes had brimmed with light redness, and the only visible shine in them was the reflection of the bathroom light. He wiped away any stray tears on the back of his hand before reaching for his phone again.

Adrien's thumb hovered above Marinette's name in his contact list. His lips twitched upwards ever so slightly. He had to fight the urge to tap her name and call her, as she probably wasn't even awake at the moment.

Besides, what explanation was he supposed to give as to why he woke up so early?

Moreover, why did he have the anticipation to call her in the first place? He was going to see her either at work or after work for rehearsal anyways.

Although, he did have to admit it: whether it was at the coffee shop or for rehearsal, seeing her was the one thing he looked forward to everyday.

**~•~**

"What are you? A preschooler?" Marinette yelped.

Her feet sprinted against her will underneath the starry sky. In front of her, Adrien had his hand grasped around her wrist as he bolted through the dark and empty streets.

"Maybe on the inside," Adrien replied.

"Don't try to climb over that impossibly tall fence up ahead and get yourself injured!"

Adrien glanced back at her, "Do I look like I would do something that stupid?"

"Do you want an honest answer?"

Adrien chuckled lightly and turned his eyes back in front of him. Marinette's feet stumbled as she nearly lost her balance from Adrien turning into a sharp corner. She gazed through her new surroundings, where a number of abandoned carnival rides sat untouched in the darkness of the night. Adrien approached a metal door and rammed his foot into it, causing it to swing open. He released his fingers from around Marinette's wrist and stepped into the small room.

"Okay, maybe you're not a preschooler," Marinette crossed her arms, "You're one of those rebellious thirteen-year-olds."

"You're ten years off, but I'll take it," Adrien laughed.

A loud click echoed from inside the room. Before she knew it, a light flickered on right above her. Then another. Marinette's eyes traveled through the amusement park, which grew brighter and brighter as more and more lights came to life. Her smiling mouth dropped open in awe at the dazzling, varicolored illumination all around her.

"This park's been abandoned for a while, but somehow the rides still work," Adrien explained, "They only turn on temporarily, though, so enjoy it while you can."

While she examined the colorful lights, Adrien couldn't help but look at her. He smiled softly, as that huge smile on her face was just so contagious she might as well win the award for "world's most contagious smile".

Even through all these carnival lights and the stars above, her smile outshined them.

Though, these colors that another person would perceive as "bright" were rather dull and lifeless in his eyes. Almost as if bright colors didn't even exist to him. Like his world consisted of nothing but black and white with faded undertones of other dusky colors.

And red.

Adrien's hands reached towards his pockets, but retracted when warm fingers wrapped around his wrist. Before he knew it, his feet took off bolting as Marinette yanked on his arm like a little kid trying to get an adult to go somewhere with them. Her blue pigtails swayed back and forth behind her as she sprinted in front of him.

"Hey, where are you going?" Adrien asked.

"Just keep running," Marinette answered excitedly.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

Marinette's feet came to a halt when she reached the unmoving merry-go-round. Adrien followed close behind as she approached one of the fake white horses, which hovered frozen at the height of her chin.

"I think you're too short to climb onto this one," Adrien stated with a laugh.

"Hey!" Marinette pouted, "Watch me."

With one hand on the saddle, Marinette placed her foot on the little step attached to the animal. Adrien watched as she struggled to swing one of her short legs over the horse's back.

"Midget," Adrien chuckled under his breath.

"I heard that!"

A laughing Adrien stepped away from the ride, much to Marinette's unacknowledgement as she continued to climb onto the horse. Her eyes lit up as she finally managed to make her way onto the ride. However, the second her behind hit the saddle, the horse sunk downwards as the ride started spinning. With a yelp, Marinette clasped her hands around the handle in front of her.

The chilly nighttime air blew against her dark blue locks and face, leaving a trail of goosebumps along her skin. The blinding lights of the amusement park zipped past her in multicolored blurs as the horse sank downwards and rose upwards at a steady pace underneath her.

"Adrien?" Marinette called out.

"I'm right here."

A high-pitched yelp escaped her lips as she shot her head towards Adrien, who had reappeared beside her right shoulder. Adrien reached for the handle of the black stallion right next to hers and jumped onto its back with ease. Their horses did not move together, however. Whenever his horse sank, her horse would rise and so on.

A robust nighttime wind attacked both of their faces, which added to the breeze blowing from the ride. Unbeknownst to her, the red hair ties that Marinette used to tie her pigtails loosened around her thick strands. The hair ties slipped off her hair, blowing away with the wind in a pair of bright red flashes.

Adrien blinked once at the sight of the wind ruffling through her now-loose hair, making way for a heat as weak as a candle flame to creep upon his cheeks. His black pupils dilated at this elegant sight, clouding his vision of her surroundings in light pink clouds and sparkles. This wasn't the first time he's seen her with loose hair, yet for some reason, it felt... Different.

"Uh, Marinette?" Adrien managed to get out, "Your... Your hair ties fell off."

With a gasp, Marinette gripped her hand onto the back of her head, keeping her loose hair from blowing with the wind. She didn't even bother looking around for her hair ties, it would practically be impossible to find them again.

"Does it look bad?" Marinette asked.

"No!" Adrien responded quickly, "You look... Umm... You're..."

Adrien drew his eyes away from her, glancing down at the back of his stallion's mane. A tiny smile tugged at the edges of his lips as his fingers fidgeted with the handle of his ride. His voice was just barely audible as he spoke, coming out as nothing but a silent and unclear mumble.

"You're beautiful."

Although, that was an understatement. To him, her beauty was truly ethereal, both on the inside and outside.

Marinette tilted her head, as his words hadn't even brushed against her eardrums.

"Did you say something?"

"Don't worry about it," Adrien answered, his smile widening as he kept his eyes on his horse.

Marinette frowned, "Come on, I know you said something."

"I'll tell you another day."

Marinette sighed in defeat, "Fine."

Finally, Adrien drew his eyes off his horse and looked at the bluenette. Her fingers brushed a section of hair out of her face as her horse rose and sank at a steady pace.

"By the way, I don't think this is a good question to ask," Adrien started, "But what happened between you and Félix? You guys were partners for like two years."

Marinette's eyes fell to the moving ground, "Let's just say we didn't have a good relationship. We were fighting constantly, so I ended it."

"Makes sense. I'm not a big fan of my cousin, either," Adrien mumbled.

Adrien shuddered as a blurred memory of his cousin flashed before him.

_The young Adrien froze at the doorway, his eyes wide in disbelief at what lay inside his home. Félix stood above the bloody bodies of Emilie and Gabriel, his back parallel to the door. In his hand, a small glimpse of a jet black object caught onto Adrien's tear-blurred vision._

"But it's okay," Marinette resumed, "Because in the end, I found you."

Adrien blinked, "You... Really think I'm good enough?"

Marinette nodded.

"Wow," Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, "That's hard to believe. I've never felt like my music was good enough before."

"I understand," Marinette said, "Despite being 'successful', I always feel like I'm not good enough. I can't tell you how many times I've considered quitting music. When I played in an ensemble before switching to solo, I just felt like nobody appreciated all the hard work I put into music. Like it was all being thrown out the window. It was so frustrating because I spent hours practicing and was the one helping the other players in my section, but I never got credit for it. My director favored everyone else over me, and it was pretty obvious that he just straight up hated me."

"Well, your director must have no taste, then," Adrien commented.

Marinette giggled softly.

"At some point, I started to hate music because of my director," Marinette continued, "But honestly, if it weren't for all my private teachers back then, I probably wouldn't still be making music today.

"And maybe I should share their words with you," A small smile crept its way onto her lips, "Being a musician is hard, and it's almost impossible not to compare yourself to others. That's why we often feel like we're not good enough. But if everyone saw themselves as the 'best musician in the world', then we wouldn't have all those elite musicians because they wouldn't have anywhere to aim for. So instead of letting it bring you down, let it motivate you to get better.

"And most importantly, look back and think about what made you want to become a musician in the first place," Marinette trailed on, "I've learned along the way that rejection happens all the time. People will dislike your music, but their opinion is not universal, nor does it define you. In the end, I couldn't be happier with the path I've decided to take."

"And it looks like you proved your director wrong in the end," Adrien added.

Marinette laughed, "I guess."

The speed of the merry-go-round began to decelerate, spinning slower and slower with each passing second. The horses underneath them leisurely moved up and down as the ride neared its end.

And then the ride came to a halt. Marinette gazed around the park, which now stood still while shining its vibrant and colorful lights.

"Is that it?" Marinette asked.

"Just for this ride," Adrien answered, "We still have about half an hour before the power turns off. Let's go on the other rides."

He knew the power hadn't yet turned off. Because up ahead, a light shade of blue shimmered brightly above his dark world. Like he was starting to see vibrant colors again.

Like he could once again take a breath of air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the awkward ending point, it was almost 3,000 words and I didn't want to drag this chapter out for too long :O next chapter will pretty much be part two to this chapter.
> 
> P.s. I totally didn't rant about my music life near the end of this chapter lol. I thought it would be nice to share the words of my second private teacher and my high school choir teacher, given I probably have a couple musicians reading this story ^^ That little "inspirational message" (whatever you want to call it) can apply to things outside of music, too.
> 
> General message of this chapter: if you're passionate about something, don't give up on it just because of one person's opinion. Their opinion is not universal, nor does it define you. Failure is part of the process on getting where you want to be, but should not be the reason you stop doing what you love.


	8. Segue

** VIII. Segue **

_Used_ _as_ _a_ _direction_ _in_ _music,_ _a_ _segue_ _instructs_ _the_ _performer_ _to_ _continue_ _on_ _to_ _the_ _next_ _section_ _without_ _a_ _pause_ _in_ _between_ _and_ _to_ _play_ _the_ _indicated_ _passage_ _in_ _a_ _similar_ _manner_ _to_ _the_ _one_ _before_ _it_ _._

**~•~**

The blurred colors of the amusement park zipped past them as the giant teacup spun in circles. Adrien's smile softened as he looked straight at her, completely ignoring everything else happening around him. The wind blew her loose hair across her face, limiting her vision of the fast-moving surroundings. Her hands worked desperately to keep them out of her face, but had little luck doing so.

"You look like you're enjoying this," Adrien laughed.

"Other than losing my hair ties, yes."

Marinette finally managed to brush her hair out of her face. As the ride swayed underneath them in a single direction, her eyes fell onto his. She quickly darted her head downwards, breaking their very short moment of eye contact. She stared nervously at her hands that rested in her lap, her thumbs fidgeting with one another.

"Thank you for bringing me here," Marinette said, "Félix always said no whenever I brought it up, so I haven't gone to an amusement park ever since I moved out of my parents' house."

Marinette sighed before continuing on, "You know, at first I was really excited to move out. But now that I've done so, I miss living with my parents."

Adrien silently moved his elbow to rest on the brim of the teacup. He turned his head to the side and watched blankly as all the empty teacups spun with them. He tilted his head downwards, allowing his cheek to rest against the palm of his hand.

"I miss my parents in general," Adrien said under his breath.

The sound of his words caught Marinette's attention. She finally drew her eyes off of her hands and stared straight at the blond pianist in front of her. He didn't seem to notice, as his head pointed elsewhere. The wind ruffled through his golden hair, giving her a full view of his visage. His soft locks flew across his eyes, hiding them completely underneath a sheet of yellow undertones. Like a curtain swaying over an open window, his bangs rode the wind and flew upwards once again, revealing his green stare.

The blinding, polychromatic lights of the park became nothing but blurry bubbles and watercolor-like splotches. Her vision cleared up Adrien's image only, as if he was a model for a photoshoot.

"You miss your parents?" Marinette repeated in questioning.

Adrien nodded, "They were both killed ten years ago."

"I'm sorry," Marinette said quietly, "I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's okay."

Adrien lowered his arm from the edge of the teacup and shifted around to face her.

"Sometimes I wish I left this world with them," Adrien continued, "It's so dark and colorless, and everyday it feels like I'm just walking around as a lifeless corpse."

Marinette's heart dropped down to her stomach as those words lingered in her thoughts. Her mouth opened up while her tongue searched around for the right words to say.

"I... I never would have thought," Marinette breathed, "In the past month I've known you, you just always seemed so strong and confident, especially when you would talk to me about your day during rehearsal. But now it sounds like you've been putting up a façade this whole time."

Adrien shrugged, "I'm used to it."

"That doesn't mean you deserve it," Marinette snapped, "As your friend, it hurts to hear that you've been carrying such a burdensome weight on your shoulders that I never knew about."

"Don't worry about it too much," Adrien sighed, "I don't want to bother you with my problems."

At that moment, he was filled with regret of saying anything in the first place. What was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly spilling everything out? Yes, they were riding in a giant teacup, but he wasn't the tea from the teapot.

He had always been a closed book that had been locked shut, hardly opening up to anyone. They've only known each other for about a month, and yet, why was it so easy to open up to her as if she had the key to his lock?

Maybe because she _did_ have the key to his lock.

"You're not bothering me," Marinette countered, "Listen. When I was dating your cousin, I felt like I was trapped. Like I couldn't do what I want or even be myself. Sometimes I was even _terrified_ of him. I had to constantly put up a plastic personality around him, and I woke up everyday feeling empty.

"Now, I'm not telling you this so you can take pity on me," She continued, "I just want you to know that you're not alone. It may not be enough, but I'm here for you."

Adrien's lips parted slightly as his eyes stared straight into hers. A relatively light hue of blue jumped out at him, churning his thoughts as if he had just discovered a new color. Pink light from the background reflected off her eyes like they were a shiny mirror. The lights brimming along the edges of her sclerae arched around the bluebell strings that made up her irises一a magical sight, really.

"We'll get through this together," Marinette assured him with a smile.

Adrien returned her smile, "You know, sometimes you remind me of my ex."

Marinette's smile faltered at the sound of his words. Her eyelids then twitched into a single blink.

Did he really just say what she thought he did?

"What?"

"No! It's not a bad thing," Adrien added quickly.

He mentally facepalmed himself for ruining the moment in probably one of the worst ways possible. Way to go, Adrien.

"We broke up a month ago, but we're still good friends," Adrien added, "Like you and Luka I guess."

Although, he was sure that Luka still saw her as more than a friend. Almost anyone could see that.

But that didn't matter at the moment, because he probably just made things worse. God, why was he so awkward?

Luckily, Marinette took his words lightly and laughed it off. Adrien's hand rubbed the back of his steaming neck in embarrassment. He was surprised that Marinette didn't jump out of the teacup and walk away like most girls would have done.

"Do you still have feelings for her or something?" Marinette questioned.

"Not really," Adrien answered, "It was hard to accept our breakup at first because I used to think I needed her. But as time went on, I've realized we're much better as just friends."

"Did you want her or did you need her?"

Adrien blinked, "What do you mean?"

"When you want something, it's not necessary, but would be nice to have. But when you need something, you simply can't go on without that one thing."

A moment of heavy yet comfortable silence fell between them as the two of them kept their eyes on each other. Adrien opened his mouth to speak, but closed it shut before a single sound could make its way out. He was absolutely at a loss for words at the moment.

Without forewarning, the teacup underneath them came to a halt. All of the lights in the park shut down simultaneously, bringing darkness to the entire place and allowing the moon and stars to take over the job of illumination.

Within seconds, Adrien was on his feet. His hand quickly reached out to grab hers as he pulled her to her feet, too.

"Now this is where we run," Adrien ordered in a whisper.

Flashes of red and blue skimmed the corner of her eyes. Marinette shot her head to the parking lot closest to their location. Two cars drove into the lot and came to a stop.

"Are those police cars in the一"

A small shriek took the place of her words as Adrien yanked on her arm, forcing her out of the teacup. With their hands locked tightly, Adrien and Marinette took off bolting towards the opposite direction of the police cars, dashing past numbers of massive rides in the dark.

"I never said this was legal!" Adrien called out to her.

Marinette's eyes grew so wide, they might as well pop out of their sockets.

"Are you fucking serious?!"

After the minutes that felt more like hours of running, Adrien released her hand. The two of them stood underneath a streetlight, bending over with their hands on their knees. Their breaths came out heavy and rapid. Their hearts raced like a cheetah while a burning sensation scorched inside their lungs.

"Even if we almost got caught by the police back there..."

Marinette paused to catch her breath from their run.

"...it was worth it."

Adrien smiled while his lungs heaved, "Glad you had fun."

Despite still being out of breath, Marinette couldn't help but break into a fit of laughter at that... Interesting runaway experience. The sound of her ecstasy spread that bright feeling to himself as he, too, broke out laughing.

The longer they laughed, the brighter the colors around him grew. The streetlight above them shined in a sun-like tone of yellow, the buildings around him flashed brilliantly in too many colors to list, and, most of all, her eyes radiated the elegant color of bluebell flowers.

She gave him back the colors of his world.

**~•~**

"I met this girl last month, and now it seems impossible to get her out of my head."

The midday sun glistened above the light blue sky. A small piece of bread landed on the warm and light gray concrete. The horde of pigeons that stood in that particular area flapped their wings rapidly as they jumped around fighting for that piece of bread. Kagami ripped off a couple more pieces and tossed them at the pigeons.

"She's an amazing girl," Adrien continued, "She's strong, incredibly talented, and don't even get me started on her smile."

A rather large smile formed on his face as he sighed at the thought of her.

"And her eyes," Adrien rambled on, "I think I discovered my favorite color."

The short-haired girl next to him tossed more pieces of bread into the crowd of pigeons in front of their bench. Her lips curled upwards into a small smile as she stared straight ahead.

"You like her a lot, huh?"

"Marinette? Oh, yeah," Adrien smiled, "She's a very good friend."

Kagami's smile faltered the second her brain processed those words. She raised one of her eyebrows as she looked at him in disbelief. Although, that name he mentioned was quite surprising to her considering she was a well-known musician who Adrien often talked about being a fan of. But that wasn't what mattered at the moment. The real question is, was he really that oblivious?

She couldn't believe she actually dated this rock head for three years.

"Um, Adrien," Kagami began, "Did you even hear the way you talked about her?"

Adrien nodded. Slowly but surely, the smile on his lips faltered.

"There might be another boy, though," Adrien muttered, "She's not necessarily _with_ him, but it's just... I don't know. And I'm not even sure if she feels the same way or not."

He's seen Luka with Marinette multiple times ever since he met him last month. Though, he did have to admit that he liked Luka a lot considering they've found some mutual interests and even became friends. But seeing him with Marinette was a different story. They often acted flirty with each other as if they were still together. Even if Marinette said they're just close friends, he couldn't help but see them otherwise.

"Why don't you tell her your feelings before he does?" Kagami suggested.

Adrien shook his head, "From what it sounds like, she got out of a bad relationship and probably isn't ready for a new one yet."

He was well aware that he had already fallen in love with her. He wanted so badly to yell his feelings out to her like he was singing her a serenade.

But he couldn't do that.

Not yet.

~

"Are you sure nothing happened between you and Adrien lately?"

Marinette perked up in front of the black and white keys that lay near the bottom of her sight. She swiftly drew her hands off the instrument before sweat could break through the skin on her palms.

"What makes you say that?" Marinette asked, wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Well, you've been playing piano _way_ more often than you used to," Alya stated.

Marinette shrugged, "I have to play once in a while to keep it in my system."

Although, ever since that night Adrien took her to the amusement park some weeks ago, she had to admit she was starting to see him in a different light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hello it's me. Online college classes are draining me out and I rarely have free time nowadays T_T sorry if there were any errors or weird-sounding phrases in this chapter, I didn't have time to self-edit and my beta reader has been super busy as well (please feel free to point anything out! It doesn't annoy me at all ^^)
> 
> P.s. I'm not okay after watching the New York special :O


	9. Symphony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: before you read this chapter, I would like to mention that I'm Asian myself. I included racial slurs in this chapter for the purpose of awareness because racism towards Asians is hardly ever talked about. I am in no way encouraging the use of these slurs or racism in general.
> 
> I'm honestly nervous to publish this chapter because I know some people (myself included) who have been talked down on for speaking up about Asian racism.

**IX. Symphony**

_Typically_ _quite_ _serious_ _in_ _character_ _,_ _a_ _symphony_ _is_ _an_ _extended_ _piece_ _arranged_ _for_ _a_ _full_ _orchestra_ _and_ _consists_ _of_ _several_ _movements_ _._

**~•~**

With a pair of glasses over his eyes, Adrien skimmed through the new piece he got from Marinette last week. He hasn't seen her for the past couple days due to a recent change in their rehearsal schedule, but at least that gave both of them more time to practice the pieces on their own. As much as he enjoyed her presence and music, he had to admit it was rather stressful on both him and her when they rehearsed everyday. Everything felt less rushed and more relaxed now that they've switched to rehearsing twice a week.

Outside his window, a waning white crescent illuminated a small portion of the dark purple sky. Speckles of stars twinkled nearby, as if they all came to watch the musician play his tunes. The pianist's soft and elegant music echoed along the white painted walls, adding a smooth legato effect to his melodies. A loose, relaxed smile made its way onto his lips as he got lost in the rich accompaniment of this particular piece.

Ever since he started accompanying Marinette in her playing, his love for music has only grown. Before, he saw it as just something to do for fun or to relieve stress once in a while. But now, he saw music as so much more. Music is truly powerful, it has the ability to make its listeners feel such a wide range of emotions. Sometimes it even uncovers hidden emotions. Each piece tells a story, with or without words. But many pieces don't even need words to feel the emotions behind them.

Not only was he beginning to see the greatness behind music, but the confidence in his playing has increased tremendously. She has helped him become a better musician, gave him words of encouragement when he didn't feel good enough (which almost every musician deals with once in a while), and, most of all, gave him the motivation to make music everyday.

A harsh vibration rumbled against the top of his grand piano. Adrien's eyebrow twitched twice at this interruption. Without stopping the music, his eyes shifted from the sheet music to his phone sitting right next to it. Taking up his entire screen was Marinette's contact name.

Adrien forced his fingers off the keys, ceasing all solid sounds in the room. The last combination of lingering notes buzzed thinly through the room. Adrien reached for his phone just in time for that last chord to dissolve into nothing. He swiped his thumb horizontally across the bottom of the touch screen and held the phone to his ear. Before he could even give a quick "hello", Marinette's frantic voice yelled in his ear.

"Adrien, please help me!" The voice pleaded.

Her voice was laced with intense fear and desperation. The sound of her pleading made Adrien's stomach twist and sink to the floor like a heavy weight. This did not sound good at all. She was in danger, no doubt.

"What's going on?" Adrien questioned as concern filled him up.

Marinette's voice lowered as she explained her situation, just barely loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm being followed," Marinette whimpered, "Please, can you come and get me?"

Adrien's eyes expanded at the sound of her words. His green irises and pupils floated like tiny specks in the middle of a large, white space. His hand that was holding the phone shook with fear, making the small device tremble against his ear.

"Where are you, Marinette?" Adrien asked anxiously, "Tell me where you are!"

Adrien quickly slid the glasses off his face and jumped to his feet while Marinette gave him her location. Within seconds, he was already bolting out the room. The call ended just as he dashed out the front door with his car keys jingling in his hand. Cursing under his breath, Adrien stuffed his phone in his pocket. He quickly jumped inside his car and turned on the engine. With his headlights illuminating the dark road ahead, he entered the street and took off driving as fast as he could. Luckily, the streets were nearly empty this late at night.

Regardless, he didn't have time to watch his speed. He needed to find her.

He didn't care if he got a ticket later on if it meant getting her to safety.

~

Marinette tore down the sidewalk at top speed, merging her way under streetlights and looking back over her shoulder once in a while. Her lungs burned inside her chest, limiting her ability to breathe while her heart pounded heavily in her ears. Her eyes darted in various directions in search of an escape route or any source of help. She hoped with all her heart that Adrien was at least close by. He was the first name listed in her contacts, so she had no choice but to act quick and call him for help.

With her eyes straight ahead, Marinette turned a corner at the edge of the sidewalk. Breathing heavily, her eyes glanced behind her while her legs raced against the rigid asphalt. She gasped in panic as a couple male figures approached the edge of the corner she just turned into. Just as she turned her head to face the front, her body rammed into what felt like another person. Strong hands gripped onto her shoulders before she could even see who she ran into. Her internal panicking skyrocketed as she flinched against this person's contact.

"Let me go!" She demanded, "I already told you I一"

"Marinette, it's okay," A soft male voice assured her, "It's just me."

Marinette twitched her head upwards. Relief flooded through her at the sight of those familiar, electrifying green eyes staring back at her. However, her sense of relief was short lived when a deep male voice spoke from behind her.

"Hey! Get back here, half chink!"

Adrien and Marinette both darted their eyes to the two full-grown men who had approached them. Adrien scrunched his nose as the strong and foul smell of alcohol arose from their presence. With a glare shining in his eyes, he stepped directly in front of Marinette in defense.

"Stay behind me," He ordered, "Where's your car?"

"I took the metro."

One of the men, a fairly tall brown-haired male, stepped up to Adrien. As the horrid stench grew stronger, Adrien tried desperately to hold back the sickening gag that built up in his throat and stomach.

Looks like he wasn't going to be drinking for a while.

Adrien took a couple steps backwards, expanding him and Marinette's distance between the man. He took a brief look over his shoulder, where his pitch black car was parked a couple blocks away.

"Come on, we just wanted to hear this chink speak Asian to us," The man snickered.

Adrien narrowed his eyes in annoyance, "One, there's no such language as 'Asian'. Two, I better not hear you use that slur again."

"What, is the half slanty-eyed girl offended by a simple joke?" The other man, who wore a hood over his head, laughed, "Oh, that's right. The gook's Chinese, isn't she? You know, that fucking dog-eating country?"

"You better shut that racist mouth of yours," Adrien warned, raising his voice, "And nobody's laughing at your 'joke' in case you weren't aware."

"What are you gonna do?" The brown-haired man sneered, "Run back home to your parents?"

Marinette's eyes widened dramatically at those words that were thrown at him. She looked down at Adrien's hand, which was now clenched into possibly the tightest fist she's ever witnessed. His knuckles were so white, they might as well have been replaced by blocks of porcelain. His entire arm twitched violently from the amount of strength he put into that fist as if it were about to explode. Marinette could only see a small portion of his face, but she didn't need to see much to know he was practically seething with fury.

"Shut up," Adrien growled.

Marinette placed her hand on his shoulder in hopes of calming him down. However, he seemed to be so lost in his internal rage fest that he didn't notice her contact at all.

"Adrien一"

"Mom, Dad, help!" The brown-haired man used his fingers and tugged upwards at the edges of his eyes, "Some guys are being mean to a dog-eating, slanty-eyed chink!"

Adrien grinded his teeth together in anger. If it was even possible, his fist grew even tighter. It was so tight that Marinette feared his knuckles would pop right out of his hand any moment.

"I said shut up!"

Before Marinette could even reach out to him, Adrien was already darting towards the racist man with his fist raised. His fist came into hard contact with the side of the man's face, no doubt knocking a tooth or two out of his mouth. The man fell to the ground from the tremendous amount of strength Adrien put into that blow.

Marinette stood with her eyes wide and her body frozen with shock. One of her trembling hands moved upwards to cover her mouth. She swore she saw blood dripping out of the man's lips. She never thought she would ever be scared of Adrien, her accompanist and the nice barista at one of the local coffee shops.

But fear was exactly what she felt towards him at the moment.

His anger was understandable and she was beyond grateful that he came to her aid just in time. But seeing him punch a man out in the open and actually hitting him hard enough to draw blood was something she wouldn't be able to get out of her memory.

Moving at the speed of light, Adrien ran back towards Marinette. His hand clenched itself around her wrist, tugging her along as he bolted down the dark and empty street as quickly as he could. Adrien looked back behind them, where the man he punched had already risen back to his feet. A small gasp sucked into his lungs at the sight of the two male figures now running towards them. His hand reached inside his pocket to pull out his car keys as he turned his head back to the front.

His black car that was perched up on the curb just a couple feet ahead reflected the multicolored lights from the nearby buildings. In Adrien's vision, the lights reflecting off the car's shiny exterior shifted along its body as he and Marinette got closer to the vehicle. His thumb double clicked one of the buttons on the tiny remote, summoning four high-pitched beeps as the headlights blinked in sync with the beeps.

"Get in the car," Adrien bidded.

Adrien released his grasp on Marinette's wrist, allowing her to run ahead. The dark-haired woman opened up the car door and jumped into the passenger seat. Adrien followed suit and climbed behind the wheel before locking the doors. Without bothering to buckle up, Adrien turned on the engine and stepped on the gas pedal.

~

Adrien pulled over into Marinette's driveway and shifted gears to park. Him and Marinette slumped against the back of their car seats, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Thanks for saving me back there," Marinette said.

"No problem," Adrien responded, "What even happened back there?"

"Well, I was at the bar and that brown-haired guy tried to ask me to dinner or something," Marinette began, "I turned him down, and all of a sudden him and his friend started throwing racist remarks at me. I left the building without even getting a drink. They followed me out for a couple blocks until I temporarily found a hiding place and that's when I called you."

"They did all that just because you turned that jackass down?" Adrien muttered angrily, "It was obvious they were drunk, but that doesn't excuse anything."

Marinette nodded, "That's the thing about being an Asian woman. Many people see us as 'weak', 'submissive', or 'easy to get'. But when we don't give them what they want, that's when they get mad. And they often try to excuse their racist remarks as 'jokes' like racism towards Asians is normalized.

"I didn't think I would experience this as a half Asian," Marinette continued, "But tonight just proved otherwise."

"If it happens again, I won't hesitate to punch another person," Adrien said, "I would have hit him more, but getting you out of there was more important."

"Uh, let's try not to put anyone in the hospital anytime soon," Marinette requested and unbuckled her seatbelt, "But thanks again anyways."

"No problem," Adrien turned to her as she pushed the door open, "Just don't go to the bar by yourself again, alright?"

"Okay."

The door closed shut as Marinette exited the vehicle. Adrien watched as she approached her front door. He waited until she was safely inside the house before shifting his car to reverse and backing out of the driveway.


	10. Larghetto

**X. Larghetto**

_Larghetto_ _is_ _often_ _used_ _as_ _a_ _tempo_ _marking_ _,_ _indicating_ _that_ _a_ _movement_ _of_ _a_ _piece_ _is_ _played_ _at_ _a_ _tempo_ _that_ _is_ _slower_ _than_ _A_ _ndante_ _("_ _walking_ _"_ _tempo_ _)_ _but_ _quicker_ _than_ _Largo_ _._

**~•~**

_"I swear you can't do anything right!"_

_Marinette flinched as the heavy vase just barely missed the side of her head. Her shocked eyes flew over her shoulder, following the path of the vase. She watched as the decorated piece of ceramic shattered against the wall, emitting a high-pitched and glassy sound. The orange lilies that had once been contained within that vase fell to the floor with the large pieces of shattered ceramic lying around it. A thin pool of water layered on top of the wood flooring of the living room, flowing towards her feet like a tiny river._

_With her bow and instrument dangling from her fingers, the young woman turned around to fully face the wall. Her cerulean eyes gazed along the path of the little river, watching as it slowly but surely approached her presence. Her line of sight trailed back up the room until they landed on the flowers that had been discarded right next to the wall. A couple of bright orange petals have ripped from the flowers, latching onto the artificial river that flowed over a small portion of the floor._

_"You're not staying with my tempo!" Félix snapped from behind her._

_"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Marinette turned back around to face him, "It's my own original piece. Besides, you're supposed to follow_ 一 _"_

 _"I don't give a shit," F_ _élix interjected, "Stop treating it like jazz or a cadenza, Marinette. You'll just keep ruining everything like you always do."_

_Marinette's chest sank like she had just swallowed a one hundred pound weight. Félix faced forward in his seat and placed his hands on the piano. His eyes landed on the pages of sheet music in front of him._

_"Let's start from the top again," The pianist said, not turning to look at her, "Don't do any of your weird improvository stuff this time."_

_Marinette inhaled a deep breath through her nose and exhaled it into a long sigh through her mouth. Unenthusiastically, the violinist placed the wooden stringed instrument on her shoulder. She raised her bow to the desired string, fingering her first note. Marinette listened for the tempo as the pianist played the first few notes of the piece._

~

The short woman stood at the bright bathroom counter, looking straight into the pair of blue eyes that stared back at her. Hugging her upper body was the light pink tank top that she fell asleep in last night. Her exposed skin revealed a number of slightly faded, purple marks on her shoulders and just below her collarbone.

Marinette grasped onto the thick strands of her dark hair and tied it out of her face. She clipped a large hair claw onto that bundle of midnight hair and leaned in closer to the mirror to examine her face. A couple spots of bright red acne have made their way onto her pale skin over the past couple days, no doubt due to stress. Though, she wasn't quite sure what it was that she was stressed about.

Tiredly, Marinette switched on the sink and leaned down to splash her face with cold water.

Elsewhere, Adrien placed a plastic lid over the ice cold beverage he just finished making. He handed the drink to the customer, just in time for the bell to jingle at the entrance. His coworkers all around him greeted the visitor as they approached the cash register. While Adrien was in the process of working on the next order, a familiar female voice sounded from the front of the counter. With a small smile on his lips, Adrien looked up briefly from his work. Gentle warmth flourished inside him at the sight of the blue-haired musician standing in front of the cashier.

It's been a couple weeks since she last stopped by the coffee shop. Although he still saw her every week for rehearsal regardless, he had to admit that he missed seeing her everyday. But, of course, musicians have busy lives.

Adrien finished the current drink he was making and handed it to its customer. He quickly grabbed the cup for Marinette's usual drink before any of his other coworkers could (and to make sure nobody puts regular milk instead of coconut milk again like that one time). As he was in the process of making her latte, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at her as she sat down at her usual table close to the counter. However, instead of being filled with excitement like usual, he was filled with concern.

Something about her was off today. Usually when she entered the shop, she would greet him with a smile or have a small conversation with him until he was done making her drink. Then she would sit at the same table for a couple hours with either her laptop or Alya (or both). Every so often, he would also catch her gaze upon him and they would smile whenever they made eye contact.

But he hasn't seen her smile at all today, nor has she looked or talked to him for even a split second. Adding to that, she also entered the shop empty handed.

Once Adrien was done with her latte, he capped the steaming cup and walked over to the pickup station. Marinette hadn't noticed, as her eyes were stuck to her phone screen. It was as if she was completely lost in her own little world.

"Marinette?" Adrien called.

Finally, Marinette's eyes caught onto him for the first time that day. Her lips trembled as they tugged upwards at the edges. Adrien knew right away that it was a fake smile, he's had experience with faking smiles himself.

And, he knew what her real smile looked like.

The bluenette stood up from her seat and walked over to him. A small frown pulled Adrien's lips downwards as he slid the latte to her.

"Thanks, Adrien," Marinette said as she took the cup from him.

Adrien opened his mouth to speak, but Marinette had already turned away. His eyes followed her as she strode towards the entrance. She pushed the door open and took a right turn, disappearing from his sight.

~

The dark and mellow sound of fingers plucking against electric guitar strings greeted her as Marinette stepped through the doorway. Hanging from her right shoulder was her violin case. Luka stopped playing the second he sensed her presence. Marinette lifted her hand in a small wave before setting her case flat on an empty table.

"You said you wanted to try playing a piece together?" Luka asked.

Marinette nodded, "If that's okay with you."

Marinette unclipped her bow from the case. Her fingers twisted the screw at the bottom of the stick, tightening the bow hair. While she was in the process of setting up her instrument, Luka unstrapped his electric guitar from his body. He stood up from his seat on the bed and strode to the other side of the room.

"It would probably sound better with my acoustic guitar," Luka suggested and reached for his other instrument.

He slid the guitar strap over his shoulder, giving the instrument a quick tuning before settling back down at the foot of his mattress. Back in their university days, him and Marinette used to play music together once in a while. It's been a couple years since they've last done anything music-related or even seen each other in person, mostly because Luka now lived a six-hour drive from Paris.

Although their breakup was mutual and they both agreed to just keep being friends, Luka couldn't help but suspect that his feelings for her were resurfacing now that he finally saw her again. Maybe those feelings never died in the first place, like they have been lingering in the background for all these years.

Luka watched as she tiredly placed her instrument on her shoulder. Her bow glided across two strings at a time as her fingers turned the pegs located near the scroll of the instrument. The clear and crisp vibrations of perfect fifths rang against his ear as he waited for her to finish tuning.

As she was in her little tuning process, Luka couldn't help but notice the lack of shine and enthusiasm in her face. Her eyes were usually bright with excitement whenever she picked up her instrument or did anything related to music, but today it looked as if she hadn't slept at all last night.

Although, as an artist who made music for a living, her schedule was like a wild animal that couldn't be tamed. So some nights she hardly slept a blink.

"You've practiced the piece I sent you, right?" Marinette asked.

Luka nodded, "But are you sure you want to play right now? You look off today."

Marinette shrugged, "It's just one of those days where I'm insanely tired and have no motivation to do anything."

A frown crept onto Luka's lips, "I think we should save it for another day. Why don't we just spend some time at the park or something?"

Marinette shook her head, "It's fine, I一"

"It's okay to have an unproductive day once in a while you know."

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but Luka had already slipped his guitar strap off his shoulder. The blue-haired boy stood up from the bed, shooting Marinette a soft smile as he turned to the doorway.

"I'll be waiting outside."

And with that, the guitarist disappeared behind the door, leaving Marinette in the middle of an empty bedroom. Finally, the violinist lowered her instrument from her shoulder. Her eyes traveled a few times between her instrument and its case right next to her. She then looked up at Luka's door, smiling a small smile at the thought of his words.

Marinette placed her bow down and disassembled her shoulder rest from the instrument. Luka was right, she needed a break from her overwhelming schedule.

~

The metal chains of the swingset squeaked consecutively as Marinette swung herself back and forth in small motions, keeping her feet planted in the wood chips. Her and Luka swung simultaneously as they watched a number of little kids chase each other around the park. A couple of the visitors eyed the bluenette from a distance, muttering to one another without taking their eyes off of her. Marinette didn't mind, though. She experienced this pretty often whenever she went out.

"It's been forever since I last came to this park," Marinette said, "Sometimes I wish I can go back to being a kid. Being an adult is tiring."

Luka nodded, "The work you do does seem like a lot."

"You have no idea," Marinette sighed, "I spend at least seven hours a day in front of my laptop to answer billions of emails or work on writing a new piece. Not to mention playing at gigs every couple weeks, teaching masterclasses, rehearsing with Adrien, recording albums, the list can go on."

"You're a hard worker," Luka commented, "That's one thing I admire about you."

Marinette hummed quietly in response. Her eyes landed on the wood chips below her feet as she continued rocking back and forth. Silence fell between them, hitting Luka with a flood of memories from when they were together. The guitarist instinctively glanced to his side, taking in the sight of the relatively chilly wind tugging at her midnight-colored pigtails and bangs.

The wood chips in front of them crunched as a pair of tiny feet approached the blue-haired violinist. Marinette looked up from the ground, only to be met with the face of an unfamiliar little boy. He held in his hands what looked like a beginner's music book and a pen.

"Hello," Marinette greeted with a smile, "Would you like me to sign that?"

The shy little boy nodded subtly as he held the pen and book out to her. Marinette took the objects from him and flipped to the first page of the music book.

"Where do you want me to sign?"

The little boy pointed a short and stubby finger at the bottom of the first page. Marinette uncapped the pen and placed the tip on the paper.

"You play an instrument, don't you?" Marinette asked as she ran the pen across the page.

The boy nodded, "I play cello."

"Really?" Marinette looked up from the book with a large smile extending from ear to ear, "That's a great instrument. Do you like it?"

A series of soft thuds consecutively pounded against Luka's ribcage as he watched the two of them exchange a small conversation about music. She always knew how to deal with kids, and it looks like that hasn't changed one bit. Luka tightened his fists around the cold chains on either side of him.

He couldn't deny it anymore, it was far too obvious. He was still in love with her. But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't tell her yet.

Perhaps he will someday, though.

Marinette lifted her hand up, offering the young boy a high five. Now with a smile on his face, the boy slapped his palm against hers before taking the book back. Marinette waved goodbye to him as he turned away from the swingset.

"It always makes my day when kids tell me they look up to me," Marinette said.

Marinette perked up at the realization of a rather heavy silence from right next to her. She turned her head to the side, only to be met with an empty swing. She tilted her head in confusion, then looked to her other side for any sign of that blue-haired guitarist.

"Luka?"

"Right behind you."

Marinette jumped and shot her eyes behind her, where Luka stood with his hands clasping the chains above her hands. He smiled at her as he pulled her swing back. Marinette lifted her feet off the ground and gripped tightly onto the chains.

"What are you doing?"

"You said you wanted to be a kid again," Luka explained and placed his hands on her back, "So hold on tight!"

With a rather forceful shove, Marinette swung forward. A violent wind cut through her face and hair as the swing moved back and forth underneath her like a pendulum. Marinette laughed with joy as butterflies tickled her stomach each time Luka gave her a push.

However, to both her and Luka's unacknowledgement, a particular pianist had just approached the park entrance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter lacks energy rip. The amount of schoolwork I get every week is crazy. I literally got 21 assignments from a single class this week (not exaggerating that number). Not to mention the assignments from my other classes :>
> 
> I really need to start sleeping earlier, too. Lol


	11. Ostinato

** XI. Ostinato **

_An_ _ostinato_ _is_ _a_ _short_ _melodic_ _or_ _rhythmic_ _phrase_ _that_ _is_ _repeated_ _throughout_ _a_ _musical_ _composition_ _,_ _which_ _may_ _have_ _slight_ _variations_ _to_ _it_ _._

**~•~**

Out of all people, Félix never would have thought that Marinette would partner up with his cousin.

The former accompanist switched off the video that was playing from his laptop. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was equally surprised at the fact that she found a new accompanist so quickly. But seeing his own cousin playing with her onstage brought a flood of feelings that he wasn't sure there were even words to describe. Was he angry? Annoyed? Frustrated? Perhaps even jealous? He wasn't quite sure of his own emotions, but they definitely weren't pretty ones.

Félix stood up from his desk and exited the room. He stood beside the doorway, eyeing his piano from a distance. He hasn't touched that instrument in quite some time. Ever since Marinette broke off both their relationship and partnership a month ago to be exact. Silently, Félix pushed off one of his feet and began walking across the room. His feet tapped against the hardwood floor of his living room with each step he took. Once he reached the piano, Félix took his seat. He opened up his binder full of sheet music, flipping through pages in search of a piece to play.

He stopped flipping once he landed on a particular piece: _Liszt - La Campanella._ The perfect piece for any pianist to flex with (if played well enough). Although, he had to admit this piece was such a pain to play. From the humongous right hand leaps that were greater than an octave (sometimes a jump of two whole octaves in the length of a sixteenth note) to the unbelievably fast tempo, it's no wonder Liszt was believed to have sold his soul to the devil.

Félix placed his fingers on the keys in preparation for the first notes. Setting aside all the negative thoughts from earlier, two his left hand fingers pushed down on their desired starting notes, emitting the clean sound of a perfect octave.

~

Adrien stuffed his hands inside his pockets as he walked through the park on this rather chilly day. By his side was a certain young woman with short, dark hair and brown eyes. The two of them laughed lightly as they talked about whatever was on their minds, whether it be anime, video games, or Adrien's undeniable feelings for a certain violinist.

However, Adrien stopped mid-laugh when his eyes fell on the swingset in the near distance. His feet came to a halt as he stared straight ahead in silence. Kagami stopped walking the second she noticed this. Curiously, she looked over at Adrien, who was no doubt screaming internally.

"What are you looking at?" Kagami asked.

Adrien pointed a finger up ahead. Kagami followed the path of his finger, where her eyes landed on a young woman with dark blue hair playing on the swingset. Right behind her was a dark-haired boy with blue dyed tips, pushing the petite woman on the swing. The two of them smiled and laughed so loudly, their joyful noises could be heard all the way from the distance. Kagami kept her eyes on the two of them as she continued speaking.

"Is that Marinette on the swing?"

Adrien nodded, "Maybe we should leave. We can go to the zoo instead or something."

Adrien turned on his heels in a one-eighty degree turn. He stepped off his right foot and began walking towards the other direction. Kagami glanced at Luka and Marinette again for one more brief moment. Silently, the short-haired girl turned around and followed Adrien's path away from the pair.

Down on the swingset, Marinette stopped laughing when her eyes landed on a certain blond in the near distance. It didn't take long for her to realize the figure belonged to none other than her accompanist Adrien Agreste. Then, a realization came to her as if a sudden reminder just went off inside her. She had to tell him something important now that she had the chance to do so.

As the swing brought her back towards the ground, Marinette dug her feet across the wood chips before Luka could give her another shove. Luka took a couple steps back, taking this as a hint that she wanted to get off.

"I'll be right back," Marinette said as she jumped off the swing, "I need to talk to Adrien about rehearsal really quick."

The young woman took off running through the crunchy pile of woodchips along the playground. She opened her mouth to yell after the accompanist, but the front of her foot rammed into the stone hard edge of the playground. Instead of words, a rather loud yelp resonated from her lips as Marinette tumbled onto the rubberized surface. Her face rouged with embarrassment when she realized the kids and adults that visited the park today now had their eyes on her.

At the sound of this familiar high-pitched scream, Adrien quickly shot his head over his shoulder. The clumsy bluenette was now a couple feet away from the swing and lying on the dark rubber ground. With a gasp, Adrien turned back around and took off sprinting in her direction. Little did he know that the guitarist on the other side of her was also making his way towards Marinette.

Though, Adrien's incoming presence was unbeknownst to Luka as well. As he, too, was more focused on reaching her than his surroundings. Kagami stood a small distance away with her feet super glued to the ground, watching in dead silence as the two boys raced towards the bluenette. Like they could care less that the few park visitors were watching this scene unfold.

The pianist and guitarist reached the violinist at the same time. Both of them grabbed hold of each of her arms. The two boys spoke their words in perfect sync with one another, not pulling her off the ground just yet.

"Are you okay, Mari一"

Luka and Adrien stopped when they finally realized the presence of the other boy. Slowly, the two of them turned their heads up. They both kept their hands gripped around her arms as they were met face-to-face with each other. Marinette, who had already recovered from the short but hard impact of her fall, blinked in confusion. She looked to her left side at Adrien, then shifted her sight to the right at Luka.

A moment of heavy silence fell between the three of them as Adrien and Luka froze with their eyes on each other. No matter how hard she tried, Marinette couldn't seem to get up. Her legs (and entire body in general) just wouldn't listen to whatever command her brain attempted to give them. From the looks of it, the boys weren't going to pull her up anytime soon, either. The fact that they had a few spectators did not make things any better.

"Hey, I think André is selling ice cream over there!" A foreign female voice exclaimed.

Adrien, knowing right away it was Kagami's voice, shot his head in his ex's direction. Finally, the sound of those words drew the visitors' attention off of the bluenette and the two boys. All of the children's faces lit up with excitement as they skipped over to the adults that brought them here. Soon, the visitors began filing out of the park. The relatively small crowd of visitors thinned out at quite an alarming rate, given their excitement of the ice cream man's presence.

And then the three of them plus Kagami were left in a quiet and desolate park.

Kagami stepped in front of Marinette. She grabbed ahold of both of her hands, taking her limbs out of Luka and Adrien's grips. Kagami pulled on the violinist's arms and helped her rise to her feet. Marinette let out a long sigh of relief. She thanked her lucky charm that this woman came to the rescue.

"Thank you," Marinette said gratefully.

Kagami smiled softly, "This wasn't exactly how I pictured I would meet you, but I'm glad I could help."

Luka and Adrien stood in total silence with their bodies facing the girls. Their eyes darted to each other here and there, but neither of them said a single syllable. Kagami released her hands from Marinette's, and both of the girls turned to face the boys. Finally, Luka broke the awkward silence by clearing his throat.

"By the way, Marinette said she wanted to talk to you," He told Adrien.

"Huh?"

Adrien shifted his attention to the dark-haired musician. Marinette's eyes met his for just a split second before she darted them downwards. Her eyes stared straight at his shoes as her fingers fidgeted with one another.

"Yeah, it's about rehearsal this weekend," Marinette began shyly, "I was wondering if we can move it a couple hours later? I completely forgot I have to teach a masterclass that morning."

"That's fine with me," Adrien responded, "And you can just call or text me next time, no need to launch yourself across the park."

Adrien chuckled lightly as he added that last bit. The edges of Marinette's lips sagged downwards into a frown, her cheeks reddening at the embarrassing thought. Still smiling, Adrien turned his body to the direction he came from.

"I suppose I should make my leave now," Adrien pointed his thumb to the exit, "I'll see you this weekend, then."

Kagami followed along as Adrien resumed his path out of the park, leaving Luka and Marinette alone. Once they were a good distance from the blue-haired pair, Kagami spoke in a rather quiet voice in hopes that the string musicians' ears weren't good enough to hear her words.

"Looks like you got competition there."

"I don't like to call it that, but sure," Adrien mumbled.

Even if it was crystal clear that Luka still had feelings for Marinette just like he did, the last thing Adrien wanted was to declare him as a love rival. After all, he still saw Luka as a friend.

"You better confess to her fast," Kagami suggested.

Adrien shook his head, "I still need to give it more time."

As much as he wanted to tell her, he wasn't sure if Marinette was ready to get into a new relationship yet or not. Not to mention there was a chance of getting rejected or possibly even cutting off their partnership. He didn't want to ruin anything between them.

Though, he wouldn't mind if she wanted to get back with Luka. He just wanted her to be with someone who would make her happy.

Even if it meant giving up his feelings for her.

As Adrien and Kagami disappeared around the corner, Luka and Marinette walked the opposite direction. The guitarist eyed Marinette from the corner of his eye as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. She remained as quiet as a rock as the two of them exited the park, and Luka could tell that she was rather deep in thought. She must have been replaying that short conversation with Adrien over and over again. Or the rather embarrassing scene that happened beforehand (probably both).

Even if she hasn't yet admitted it, Luka knew she at least had some feelings for the accompanist. The way she avoided eye contact with him when they spoke, how she fidgeted out of nervousness, the sudden drop in her usually confident voice, it was no secret at all. He knew her well enough to figure it out.

As much as it pained him to think about.

**~•~**

The entrance of the bar blasted open, nearly hitting the incoming visitors as Marinette bolted through the doorway. She held her hand up towards the newcomers in hopes that they would take her gesture as an apology. It was then that she spotted the drunk creep she was running from stumble out the door (thankfully, not the same man as last time). Panicking, Marinette quickly pulled out her car keys and unlocked the door. She threw herself into the driver seat and locked the door before turning on her engine and lowering her parking brake. Before the drunk man could get any closer, Marinette stepped on the gas and headed in the direction of her place.

Not only did she need to save her ass, but she had also lost track of time. Her masterclass ended three hours before rehearsal time, which she initially thought would have been plenty of time to do her own things and maybe even get a quick drink. Turns out, three hours wasn't as long as she thought. She was already five minutes late. The fact that rehearsal was at her own house was just plain embarrassing, too.

By the time Marinette pulled up on her driveway, Adrien was already waiting at the front door. Marinette swiftly exited the car with her violin on her shoulder. She then locked the door before making her way to Adrien. Her hands trembled from that relatively close call as she drew her house keys.

"Sorry I'm late," Marinette said quickly.

Adrien blinked twice at the sight of her shaky hands and somewhat heavy breathing. Marinette unlocked the door and pushed it open, giving way for her and Adrien to enter the house. He closed the door behind him as he stepped in after her. She kept her back turned to him as if trying to avoid eye contact at all costs.

Something was wrong, he could feel it.

"What happened back there?" Adrien questioned.

Marinette's finger lightly scratched her temple. She knew it was a bad idea to tell him she went to the bar alone again after saying she wouldn't, especially with what resulted in her doing so.

"Uh, the... The masterclass took longer than I thought it would."

With his arms folded over his chest, Adrien raised a single eyebrow at her words. That was definitely a lie, the masterclass was scheduled to be only an hour long. There's no way it would be extended by two more hours.

Marinette slipped her violin case from her shoulder and carried it by its handle. With her instrument dangling by her side, she continued her way to the living room. Adrien couldn't help but notice that she hadn't met his gaze for even a millisecond ever since she arrived.

"Anyways, setting that aside, let's一"

Marinette stopped talking when a rather tight grip surrounded her left hand. She shot her head down to her hand, which Adrien's own hand had latched itself onto.

"Tell me the truth," Adrien requested in a low tone.

"I also went to other places," Marinette answered, still not looking at him.

Marinette tried to yank her hand out of his, but Adrien only strengthened his grip. She flinched at the tremendous tightness that encased her palm and fingers. Her eyes looked down at the wooden floor as she spoke.

"Let go of my hand."

"What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," Marinette made another attempt to pull her hand out from its restraint, "Just一"

"It doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me," Adrien interrupted, "Why can't you just look at me for one second?"

"Adrien, there's nothing一"

"Stop lying to me, Marinette," Adrien bidded, "I know you're hiding something from me."

Marinette clenched her fist around the handle of her instrument case, turning her knuckles as white as snow. Perhaps there was no point in hiding it anymore. She inhaled and exhaled a short breath before delivering the truth.

"I went to the bar alone and got followed again," Marinette muttered, "Now let go of me."

Adrien's eyes widened, "What?"

Adrien's fingers loosened around Marinette's hand, allowing her to finally pull it out of his grip. Still avoiding eye contact, she brought her hand up and her fingers fidgeted with the collar of her shirt.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Adrien raised his voice slightly, "You said you wouldn't go to the bar by yourself again! You couldn't have gotten Alya to go with you or something?"

Finally, Marinette whipped her head around to look at him. Now it was her turn to raise her voice.

"She was watching a movie with Nino, okay?" Marinette snapped, "Stop making a big deal out of something small!"

"This is not 'small', Marinette!" Adrien yelled, "What if you didn't have your phone on you or weren't able to make it out safely?"

"It doesn't matter, so just let it go!" Marinette yelled back.

"Well, your safety matters to me!" Adrien countered.

"Why are you being so protective anyways?" Marinette interrogated, "I'm not a five-year-old!"

Adrien's teeth grinded against each other in frustration. He clenched his hands into a pair of fists on either side of him. Marinette whipped her head back around, breaking their gaze upon each other.

"I just don't want to see you in danger, okay?" Adrien snapped, "And I'm being 'protective' because I'm in love with you!"

Adrien inhaled a sharp gasp the second those last five words left his lips. Marinette's eyes grew wide as the gears in her brain worked to process those words that were thrown at her. Silently, she turned around to fully face him with her body. Now, both of them stared at each other with eyes the size of a yoga ball.

"You... What?"

Adrien shot his eyes to the floor. His voice was just barely audible even above the eerie silence that came between them.

"I... I'm in love with you, Marinette," Adrien confessed under his breath.

At that moment, he wanted nothing but to take those words back. God, how stupid was he? Yelling his feelings for her out of nowhere and possibly during one of the worst times?

Without looking at her, Adrien turned around to face the doorway. Marinette stood in silence, still trying to process what just happened.

"I'm sorry. I'll see you later," Adrien mumbled.

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but a lump formed in her throat and prevented her words from escaping. Wordlessly, Adrien opened the door and stepped outside, leaving Marinette alone in her empty home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH I almost forgot it was Saturday >.< it's hard to keep track of time when I do like 12 hours of schoolwork a day :o 
> 
> P.S. I hope you guys like slow burn


	12. Concerto

** XII. Concerto **

_Typically_ _broken_ _into_ _three_ _movements_ _,_ _a_ _concerto_ _is_ _a_ _musical_ _piece_ _arranged_ _for_ _a_ _solo_ _instrument_ _that_ _is_ _accompanied_ _by_ _an_ _orchestra_ _._

**~•~**

Was there a way to turn back time and get a second chance? Because that would be very useful right now.

Adrien knocked on the large, rectangular piece of wood in front of him. Within seconds, the door pulled open, revealing a certain Japanese girl standing on the other side of the doorway. She opened her mouth to speak, but Adrien spoke first.

"I'm such an idiot, Kagami!"

Kagami blinked once and tilted her head to the side, "Are you just now realizing that?"

Adrien rolled his eyes, "Very funny."

Kagami laughed lightly, "Alright, come inside."

Kagami stepped to the side, giving way for Adrien to make his entrance. She locked the door behind them as Adrien made his way to her living room. With a bowl in her hands, Kagami joined the pianist on the couch. Adrien's eyes landed on the bowl as Kagami set it on the coffee table in front of them. The interior of this little dome held a variety of candies and individually wrapped snacks, something he had seen in anime multiple times.

"So, what happened?" Kagami asked.

"Well... I may have accidentally confessed to Marinette not too long ago," Adrien began.

Kagami listened to him as he rambled on about the recent events (with emphasis on his impulsively stupid love confession timing). The second she processed his little story, she wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face.

"You seriously confessed during an _argument?_ " Kagami slapped her palm flat on her forehead, "Well, I did say to tell her your feelings as soon as possible, but I didn't mean it _this_ way."

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Like I said, it was out of impulse. I didn't mean to spill those words out, but somehow I did."

"I thought you would have learned after being with me for three years," Kagami sighed.

"I'll give you permission to make fun of me for my stupidity whenever you want," Adrien added with a chuckle, "But anyways, I don't know what to do now."

"Well, how did she respond to your confession?"

"I left before she could say anything," Adrien said, "But either way, I'm gonna have to see her again sooner or later for rehearsal."

Or if she stops by the coffee shop sometime before their next scheduled rehearsal (if it was still going on). But for once, he hoped she wouldn't stop by while he was working. At least not until he sorts out his feelings. He never thought he would say this, but he did not want to see her. Not for at least a couple days.

"You never know, maybe she has feelings for you, too," Kagami suggested, "I mean, who wouldn't?"

The room grew utterly silent after those words left Kagami's lips. Adrien slowly rotated his neck, allowing his eyes to land on his ex girlfriend. No words were needed, his stare alone was self-explanatory.

"I don't count," Kagami added.

Perhaps she said the wrong thing.

Letting out a breathy sigh, Adrien slumped his back against the sofa. The soft material cushioned his body, shaping itself around his rather slim figure. Kagami reached for the remote in front of her and held it out to him.

"You can turn on some anime if you want," Kagami said, "Just for a little distraction."

Adrien silently reached for the remote and slid it out of her hand. His thumb pressed the power button, bringing the relatively large screen to life. The two of them relaxed onto the couch as an episode of _Seven Deadly Sins_ flashed on screen.

"By the way, have you ever noticed that Meliodas' voice sounds a lot like yours?" Kagami brought up.

Adrien chuckled, "A lot of people have told me that, but I can't really see it."

Just as the silence of speech fell between them once again, a harsh vibration rumbled against the soft furniture underneath them. Not even a second has passed before Adrien swiftly pulled his phone out of his pocket. Part of him hoped it was from Marinette, but another part of him was not ready to talk to her just yet. To both his relief and disappointment, her name wasn't the one lighting up the screen.

It was Luka.

~

Marinette extended her chopsticks towards the open bamboo steamer. The thin sticks clamped around a steaming dumpling. Marinette brought the dumpling back towards her, giving it a quick blow of cold air before placing it inside her mouth. Alya, who couldn't help but notice Marinette's unusual silence, sat across from her.

"Aren't you supposed to be rehearsing with Adrien right now?" Alya questioned, lifting a long string of green bean with her chopsticks.

"It got canceled."

Marinette lifted her teacup to her lips and blew across the top of the steaming beverage. Before she could take the smallest bite out of her green bean, Alya lowered her chopsticks.

"Alright, talk," Alya demanded.

The scalding, leafy beverage spilled into her mouth and traveled rapidly down her throat against her will. Marinette quickly placed the teacup back on the table, doubling over as the hot beverage formed an itchy lump in her throat. She covered her mouth with her elbow, letting out a short series of raspy coughs. Marinette cleared her throat, somewhat thinning out the lump that formed inside it.

"What?" Marinette croaked.

"You and Adrien," Alya started, "What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing," Marinette responded quickly, "Well, not exactly."

Marinette took her hands off the table and placed them on her lap. Her eyes stared straight at her intertwined fingers underneath the table.

"I guess you can say he sort of... Confessed."

Alya would have screeched if it weren't for the fact that they were at a restaurant right now. Her fingers unintentionally released their grip on her pair of chopsticks, causing one of them to roll off the table and fall to the floor. Slowly but surely, her lips began to part until her mouth formed a large O shape.

"He... Confessed his feelings for you?"

Marinette nodded, "I don't know what to do, though. He walked out before I could say anything."

"Your next rehearsal is in three days, isn't it?"

Marinette nodded again.

"What am I supposed to say to him, though?"

"Just be honest about your feelings."

"But I don't even know how I feel about him," Marinette sighed, "My feelings are all over the place. Sometimes I just see him as a friend, but other times I feel like he's more than that. It's confusing."

A frown pulled downwards at the edges of Alya's lips. Before she could make out a single sound, a waiter stopped by their table with a small, black, rectangular tray.

"Here's your bill."

The waiter slid the tray between the girls before turning away from the table. A receipt and two individually wrapped fortune cookies sat on the tray. Just as Marinette extended her hand towards the bill, Alya grabbed it first and pulled it to her. She tossed one of the fortune cookies to the bluenette before reaching into her purse.

"Don't worry, I got it."

"No way, I'm paying," Marinette said and snatched the bill from her.

"Marinette, please," Alya quickly took the bill back, "You're always the one paying."

"At least split it with me," Marinette insisted.

Alya shook her head, took out her credit card, and placed it on the tray. Before Marinette could reach for it again, a different waiter stopped by and took the bill from Alya. Marinette sighed in defeat and reached for her fortune cookie. She ripped the plastic wrapper open and pulled out the cookie, where a light but sweet smell entered her nostrils. Her fingers broke the cookie in half as tiny crumbs fell upon the table like specks of snow. Marinette slid the tiny slip of paper out of the cookie and skimmed over the short little note written on it.

_One who cannot make up their mind is a fool._

The blue-haired fool gasped loudly at her "fortune". Alya, who had also broken her fortune cookie, blinked at her best friend's sudden reaction.

"What happened?"

"According to the cookie, I'm a fool now," Marinette laughed lightly.

Alya reciprocated her laugh. She proceeded to slip her fortune out of her cookie and held the note up to read it.

"What does yours say?" Marinette asked.

Alya read her fortune out loud: "' _Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.' – Lao Tzu'_."

The waiter returned with the bill and placed it back on the table. Alya thanked the waiter before taking her credit card and stuffing it back inside her purse. Marinette wrapped her own purse over her shoulder and rose to her feet. Alya followed her actions and stood up.

"At least you didn't get called out by a cookie," Marinette giggled, "So, where are we going now?"

~

The high-pitched sound of electronic music and laser beams filled the room, accompanied by a flood of clicks and mashing buttons. Adrien kept his eyes super glued to the screen with Luka sitting by his side.

"Why did you call me here again?" Adrien asked.

"I just wanted to play this game with someone. It's more fun on multiplayer mode," Luka responded, "Marinette was busy and my sister didn't want to, so I called you instead. Marinette told me that you really like this game."

Adrien smiled at the thought of her. He's only mentioned his interest in this video game to her once, so he was surprised she remembered that little thing.

Both of the boys grew quiet, giving way for the video game to fill the void of silence. Adrien's eyes widened when he realized the path that Luka was directing his black cat-themed character to.

"Wait, wait! Don't go in there! It's a一"

Too late. The game's music shifted to a brief downwards chromatic scale. Two gigantic, pixelated words flashed on screen, preventing both players from making another move. Luka and Adrien frowned simultaneously.

"Maybe we should try switching characters," Luka suggested, "Let me try using the snake guy."

Adrien nodded in agreement. He always used the character that Luka chose, so that would make things much easier for him. The players shifted back to the main screen and selected their new characters. Adrien waited as Luka entered a name for his character.

"You changed his name to Viperion?" Adrien questioned.

"Better than your name for the snake guy," Luka chuckled, "Seriously, 'Aspik'? That sounds like 'ass pic' when you say it slowly."

Both of the boys burst out laughing. Adrien wasn't even offended by his statement. He didn't know what he was thinking when he thought of that name himself.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to unhear that whenever I think of the name 'Aspik' now," Adrien said, "Guess I'll change the name for the cat guy, then. How does 'Chat Noir' sound? That's the name I usually use for him."

Luka shrugged, "Sure. As long as I don't have to yell 'ass pic'. My sister would question what the hell is happening here if she heard me."

Adrien laughed, "You know what? Maybe I should go back to being Aspik just so I can hear you yell that."

"No!" Luka laughed back, "Just keep it as Chat Noir."

"Fine."

Adrien pressed the start button, and the boys were transported back into their world of video games. Adrien's teeth clamped themselves around his tongue in concentration as his thumbs mashed the buttons.

"Destroy those boulders so I can get through," Luka said.

"On it."

The controllers in their hands vibrated as a loud crash sounded from the screen. The boys rapidly hit the buttons on their controllers as they proceeded to fight a horde of enemies.

"Man, it would be really useful if we had someone to play that ladybug character," Adrien brought up, "Not me, though. I tried playing her once. Didn't go so well, she's so hard to control."

Luka nodded, "Same here. Marinette's pretty good at playing her, though. I'll invite her to join us next time."

About twenty minutes of intense button mashing has passed. Both of the boys' faces lit up with excitement as they finally reached the end of the level. Bright, celebratory music sounded from the screen as a bunch of virtual white butterflies fluttered around. With one hand still gripping the controller, Adrien and Luka threw one fist in the air as they cheered with joy. Adrien turned to Luka and smiled as he held his fist out to him.

"Nice job, dude."

"You, too."

Luka briefly tapped his fist against Adrien's before lowering his hand. The blue-haired boy set his controller down in front of him and leaned back in his seat.

"I think I just found my main," Luka commented, "I kinda like Viperion."

Adrien nodded, "That was fun, thanks for the invite."

Not to mention it was a nice distraction from the events that took place earlier in the day. Adrien placed his controller down. He opened his mouth to say something, but a series of high-pitched beeps replaced his words. Curiously, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He swore his heart skipped a beat or two when he saw who had sent him a text message.

It was Marinette.

Adrien smiled in relief as he read the four-word sentence written inside her text bubble. He quickly responded to her message before pocketing his phone and turning back to Luka.

"What do you say we play another round?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. I hope you're doing well. I had the most stressful and work-filled week ever >-< literally all I did this whole week was homework until 2am. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a math exam to take *-*
> 
> P.s. sorry for the boring chapter :>


	13. Allargando

**XIII. Allargando**

_Similar_ _to_ _ritardando,_ _allargando_ _(_ _Italian_ _word_ _for_ _"_ _enlarging_ _")_ _is_ _a_ _musical_ _instruction_ _that_ _tells_ _the_ _musician_ _(_ _s_ _)_ _to_ _slow_ _down_ _gradually_ _and_ _is_ _often_ _played_ _with_ _a_ _crescendo_ _._

**~•~**

Adrien stared at his screen as he strolled along the sidewalk. Those four words that Marinette had sent him earlier brought him an unusual sense of contentment and inner peace.

_Rehearsal in three days?_

Although it did catch him off guard, he was beyond relieved that he hadn't ruined their partnership. She still wanted to play music with him, and so did he. He was ready to hit her with an apology the second he arrived at her place for their next scheduled rehearsal.

In the distance, the sun was just beginning to set. A portion of the sky that surrounded the blinding star had been painted a mixture of pink and orange, whose fluorescent colors ranged from dark to light. Like Van Gogh swiped his paintbrush, dipped in color and all, across the horizon.

Unbeknownst to Adrien, who had all his attention on his little screen, a pigtailed figure strode straight past him as they walked in opposite directions. Her presence just barely brushed the tip of his shoulder as a soft breeze ruffled through his layered, flavescent hair. Adrien's ears twitched twice before he forced his feet to halt. Lifting his eyes off his screen, Adrien gazed over his shoulder.

Marinette, who most likely hadn't noticed his presence, walked down the sidewalk with her eyes beaming as she spoke with Alya. Adrien turned around on his heels to fully face her and stuffed his phone inside his pocket. He opened his mouth to call out to her, but closed it the second he did so.

Perhaps it was best not to talk to her just yet. Even if he did call her name, what was he supposed to do next? He'd probably spend the next couple minutes standing awkwardly in front of her while his mind raced to give him a good combination of words.

Adrien shrugged off this unexpected encounter and turned back around. He slid his hands in his pockets before continuing his route in the direction opposite of hers. Marinette's sweet and cheerful laughter rang in his ears from behind, bringing the smallest smile to his lips. It then occurred to him that he hasn't heard such a sound in quite a while.

Down the sidewalk, Marinette stopped mid-laughter when a head of golden hair brushed against the edge of her sight. Her feet came to a stop, causing Alya to do the same. Marinette turned her head to the side, where Adrien's figure strode away with his back facing her. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and raised them to his ears, appearing to have perhaps placed earbuds into them. The sound of his name nearly left her lips, but he turned a corner and disappeared from sight before she could even call out the first syllable.

"I think you should just leave him be," Alya suggested, "Wait until rehearsal."

Marinette nodded. Silently, the girls turned away and continued their initial path. Even if she wanted to, Marinette knew it wasn't the best idea to talk to him right now. It was best if they spent time away from each other at least for a few more days.

Plus, the day's hours of sunlight were already coming to an end.

**~•~**

The two-note tune of a doorbell vibrated through the house in a descending major third interval. Marinette immediately halted her individual practice session and set her instrument on top of the grand piano. A mixture of excitement and nervousness built up inside her as she scampered to the front door. Hands shaking, Marinette inhaled and exhaled a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She reached a shivering hand to the spherical handle, twisting it clockwise as she pulled the door open. Just as she expected, the accompanist stood on the other side of the doorway with a black binder in his hands.

"I'm sorry," The musicians said simultaneously, causing their voices to harmonize with one another.

Adrien and Marinette both blinked in sync一just like they were playing music together.

"You go first," Marinette said.

Adrien shook his head, "No, you first."

"No, you."

"No way, I一"

"Just come inside so we don't annoy my neighbor," Marinette suggested with her head turned elsewhere.

Adrien's eyes followed Marinette's to his right side, where an old woman in a light pink bathrobe stood in front of the neighboring house with her hands on her hips. Marinette stepped aside as she pulled the door open further.

Adrien quickly obeyed and stepped inside before they could get yelled at by her grumpy-looking neighbor. Marinette closed the door behind them and pressed her back against the large piece of painted wood. Her eyes snuck a glance at Adrien's face, but quickly bolted to the floor at the sight of his eyes looking at her. She folded her hands in front of her as this rather deep silence gave way for the crickets to chirp their tune.

Marinette's teeth awkwardly chewed on her bottom lip while her hands wrestled with one another. Her lips urged her to say something. Anything. But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't think of anything to say. At this point, they might as well spend the entirety of rehearsal standing there in silence if one of them doesn't break the ice soon.

Marinette took a silent breath, so silent that she couldn't even hear it herself. She managed to gather up the courage to look up at him, where they were found staring at each other yet again. Her mouth opened to articulate, but his mouth opened at the same time. As if this was another version of Nose Goes, Adrien quickly shut his mouth before she could. Assuming he refused to speak first, Marinette proceeded to do her side of the talking.

"I'm sorry for disobeying you and going to the bar by myself again," Marinette said, "I guess I should have learned after the first time."

Adrien shook his head, "Blame the man, not the victim. The guys that followed you should have backed off after you said no in the first place. It's not your fault.

"I should be the one apologizing," Adrien continued, "From the looks of it, I made you feel like it was your fault when it really wasn't. I was just worried back there. And also for confessing out of the blue."

Adrien's voice lowered against his will as he added that last sentence. Marinette still heard those words loud and clear, though. But it wasn't like he was trying to hide it from her anyways.

"Don't dwell on it too much," Marinette smiled reassuringly, "I just need time to process all of this, but it doesn't ruin anything between us."

"Are... Are you sure?" Adrien asked nervously.

Marinette nodded, "You'll always be my accompanist."

Adrien blinked twice at her statement, but his lips spread into a smile shortly afterwards. Marinette pushed herself off the door and stepped around him. The pianist took this as a hint to start rehearsal and followed her path through the house. As the musicians entered the living room, Marinette took her violin off the piano, where a couple pages of sheet music had already been spread out across the percussion instrument.

"I wanted to start with the Bach piece today," Marinette said, "If you're okay with that."

Adrien shrugged, "Sure."

The pianist took his seat in front of the instrument. He shuffled up the music that Marinette placed on the piano and set it aside. Adrien then opened up his binder to the desired piece and placed it in front of him. He set his fingers down in preparation for the first note as Marinette lifted her instrument to playing position.

The music began on her eighth note cue. Adrien played along with the violinist, tapping his feet along the pedals here and there. Once in a while, her fingers would roll back and forth in a quick but relaxed motion along the string, adding color and emotion to each note she vibrated on.

Wait a minute. She was using vibrato... On a _baroque_ piece.

Adrien moved his eyes from the sheet music to the violinist. The sight of her vibrato trembled in his sight, perhaps moving continuously like her wrist was bouncing off a spring. She appeared to not have noticed he was watching her, as she was too focused on her music. Adrien took his foot off the pedals and lifted his fingers from the keys, ceasing the accompanist part of this particular piece. However, the violinist continued playing the soloist part. With vibrato and all.

"Marinette," Adrien called.

At the sound of her name, the dark-haired girl forced her right hand to stop the bow. Lifting an eyebrow in confusion, Marinette looked over at her accompanist and lifted her bow off the strings. Her left hand lowered the instrument slightly as it remained perched on her shoulder.

"You know you're not supposed to vibrato on a Bach, right?" Adrien pointed out, "Or on a baroque piece in general."

"Well," Marinette took her instrument off her shoulder, "You're not supposed to use pedals."

"Oh yeah?" A small smirk curled its way onto Adrien's lips, "You're tuned to A-440 when you should be tuned to A-415."

"Are you challenging me?" Marinette asked, returning his subtle smirk, "You're not supposed to use eighty-eight keys."

"You're not supposed to use a shoulder rest," Adrien countered, " _Or_ a chin rest."

"Your instrument didn't even _exist_ in the Baroque Era!"

Adrien's eyes widened ever so slightly. Silence fell upon the room directly after those words left her lips. The crickets that chirped their tune earlier returned to the spotlight for this very moment.

Adrien's mouth dropped open at her statement. His mind rummaged around like a raccoon in a garbage can in an attempt to find the words to counter. The smirk on Marinette's face spread even further. Her lips took up nearly the entire width of her face, surprising even herself that the edges of her lips hadn't popped out of her cheeks.

"Alright, you got me there," Adrien chuckled, "But I guess you can say a violin with no vibrato is like a person with no money... _Baroque._ "

Marinette giggled lightly as she shook her head at his little joke. Out of instinct, Adrien's lips spread into a smile as her adorable laugh echoed against his eardrums. At that moment, he wouldn't mind if they didn't get a lot of rehearsing done today as long as he could hear her laugh.

He loved her laugh just as much as he loved her music. Regardless, her laugh itself was already music to his ears.

**~•~**

"Shouldn't you be at work right now?"

Nino's eyes followed Adrien as his blond best friend made his way inside the house. Adrien strode across the floor until he reached the living room and settled down on the couch.

"My manager let me off early today," Adrien explained as he reached for the remote, "And Marinette went to play music with Luka, so I just stopped by here out of boredom."

Adrien pointed the remote to the TV and switched on the screen, where a female news reporter appeared on TV. Nino folded his arms over his chest as he kept his eyes on the blond.

"Are you jealous or something?" Nino suspected.

"Jealous? _Pfft,_ no way," Adrien laughed, "I already rehearse with her every一okay, yeah. Maybe I'm a little bit jealous."

Nino unfolded his arms and slumped down next to his best friend. Adrien sat with his lips pursed as he stared blankly at the television screen.

"I don't think there's much to worry about," Nino commented.

Adrien leaned his back against the soft and puffy material of the couch. He exhaled a long, deep breath through his mouth, blowing his golden bangs upwards like a flag ruffling in a breeze. The golden curtain of hair fell back upon his face as he ran out of breath. Adrien lifted his hand up to brush his bangs out of his emerald green eyes.

"I know, but it's just一"

Adrien's eyes widened to the size of a basketball as his mind processed the event taking place on screen. His lips parted slowly like a claw machine lowering a toy. A tight knot twisted inside him like he had swallowed a gallon of glue. Nino, who hadn't taken even the shortest glance at the TV, tilted his head in concern.

"You good, my du一"

"Shh," Adrien shushed loudly, holding a finger up to his best friend.

With his hands trembling, Adrien pressed the volume button on the remote, allowing the voice of Nadja Chamack to increase its volume. Finally, Nino drew his attention to the TV. His facial expression mimicked Adrien's the second he took in the event that had unfolded.

The camera showed a red bug car with black polka dots lying wrecked in the middle of the street. A long, cavernous dent sprawled inwardly across the passenger door and its neighboring back door. The red paint had also been tainted black, the windows replaced by shards of broken glass, and the edges of the two affected car doors popped out of their slots. Adding to that destruction, thick clouds of smoke arose from the crippled vehicle, completely blocking out any background images.

Marinette's car... Hit by a drunk driver.

In the blink of an eye, Adrien jumped to his feet. Nino had no time to even open his mouth before Adrien bolted his way to the counter near the kitchen. He spoke so quickly that his words came out like a horde of buzzy bees.

"Sorry, Nino. I need to borrow your motorcycle."

Adrien's hand reached out to grab a hold of the black motorcycle keys. Nino, upon noticing his best friend's actions, jumped off the couch at the speed of light.

"Dude, what are you doing?!" Nino exclaimed, "You don't even know how to一"

"I have to make sure she's okay!" Adrien interrupted.

With a motorcycle helmet in his other hand, Adrien sprinted to the front of the house as if he were running a race. Nino, both annoyed and concerned by his friend's actions, darted after the running blond.

"Why can't you just take your一"

Before he could add the last word to his question, the front door slammed shut with a rattle that vibrated the entire front half of the house. Nino's feet halted from that mini run, staring at the closed door with a pair of enlarged eyes.

"...Car."

The interior of Nino's chest and stomach twisted and churned like a mixer in cake batter.

This did not look good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I have a pretty important announcement to make! :D
> 
> I'm SO sorry for the cliffhanger, but I may need to put this story on a short hiatus (probably about 2-3 weeks or a little longer. I can't say how long). My school life is a mess, and I just need a little break from this story to get my schoolwork sorted out more. I need a break from MLB in general tbh. This fandom is so toxic it makes me sick to my stomach. I've also been writing a short story for a different fandom that I really want to finish (it's just a two-shot, so it shouldn't take too long). I hope you guys understand, thank you for all the support and lovely comments! :D
> 
> I promise I'm not discontinuing this story. I have so much planned for it and would hate to stop writing it! But until then, I'll see you guys later :D


	14. Minuet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⚠Trigger warning: this chapter hints at self-injury and may be a bit graphic in terms of bloodshed⚠

**XIV. Minuet**

_Originating_ _in_ _the_ _Classical_ _Era_ _,_ _a_ _minuet_ _(_ _also_ _called_ _"minuetto"_ _or_ _"_ _menuet_ _")_ _is_ _a_ _slow_ _French_ _dance_ _that_ _is_ _played_ _in_ _triple_ _meter_ _and_ _is_ _usually_ _followed_ _by_ _a_ _Trio_ _._

**~•~**

Chilly air ruffled through his clothing as the motorcycle sped through the streets, leaving a trail of goosebumps along his skin. He dashed between cars, switched lanes unpredictably, and even received a number of honks out of the other drivers' annoyance. He was pretty sure he had broken the speed limit at least four times already, but he was too focused on reaching Marinette to even pay attention to the speedometer.

He just needed to see her.

Buildings blurred past the edges of his vision as he directed the motorcycle into a desolate street. As he continued driving straight at a blinding speed, the street ahead of him rapidly drew towards him as if it were being sucked by a vacuum cleaner underneath his wheels. His right hand twisted the throttle of the motorcycle towards him, allowing him to speed up yet again. At this point, his surroundings were nothing but blurs. Like someone had attempted to take a picture of the city while riding a fast-moving vehicle.

A relatively large, round object flew in front of him in an orange blur. Panicking, Adrien's fingers pressed tightly around the brakes. The wheels of his motorcycle screeched against the ground as his arms moved the handles in multiple directions against his will. Almost as if he had no control over them at all. The black bike broke into a skid, sliding sideways on its two wheels. Before Adrien could even regain his control, the bike fell to the ground and threw him off the seat. The unmanned motorcycle slid on its side like a textbook gliding across a desk, just barely missing the fallen rider as it strode past him.

Adrien's body hit the ground like a pebble skipping over a surface of water. He landed directly on his right arm, where a razor sharp object pierced through the fabric of his long sleeve and the skin of his upper arm. He emitted a loud scream of pain at the agonizing stings and burns that spread to his entire arm. Adrien placed his left palm flat on the ground, only for another edged shard to break through his skin. Wincing, Adrien swiftly withdrew his hand and sat up on his knees. Shakily, he reached up to grip the motorcycle helmet on both sides and pulled it off his head, allowing him to catch a breath of cold and fresh air.

Adrien held his left hand up to his face, examining the deep, diagonal, red gash that made its way across his palm. A large, green piece of broken glass had also attached itself to his skin. Adrien lifted his trembling fingers and clipped them around the glass. A thin line of blood dripped down his hand as he pulled the glass shard out of his palm. His eyes landed below him, where they took in the sight of two broken bottles that have been discarded right next to the sidewalk.

Adrien looked back at the street up ahead. A thick haze of smoke traveled from the corner just a few blocks away, accompanied by flashing lights of red and blue cutting through the fog.

He was almost there, he just needed to walk the rest of the way.

Tossing the helmet to the side, Adrien slowly and shakily rose off the ground. His feet stumbled the second he stood up, but he was quick enough to regain his balance. A trail of blood ran down his right arm as the injured blond took a wobbly step forward, ignoring the inferno of pain that throbbed before him.

In front of a nearby boathouse, a pigtailed bluenette stared wide-eyed at the destruction of her car. Her violin case dangled untouched over her shoulder. Two police officers confronted the drunk driver in the silver vehicle that crashed into her, which thankfully left her unharmed一save for a few scratches and bruises.

Physically, she had only minor injuries that would heal in just a couple weeks. But mentally, she had dozens of scars from this rather traumatic event. The unforgiving force of the impact that pushed her car across the street and how she just barely managed to get out of the vehicle before the engine exploded was quite a lucky occurrence. Like she had some sort of lucky charm.

"Marinette?"

On the call of her name, Marinette shot her head to the side. Relief flooded through her at the sight of the tall figure that stood before her. The edges of her lips twitched upwards ever so slightly, her voice just barely resonating above the chaos before her.

"Luka."

The blue-haired guitarist stepped up to Marinette, who opened her mouth to speak. Luka threw his arms over her shoulders, causing her to lose her short train of thought. Her eyes blinked a single time at this unexpected embrace.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Luka murmured right next to her ear.

Marinette kept her arms dangling at her sides. Her heart raced as if she had just run the thirty-five mile perimeter of the entire city. The recent event replayed in her head over and over again like a damaged VHS player, pounding against the inside of her skull. As much as she wanted to return the hug, her arms would not listen to her. They absolutely refused to cooperate. Likewise, her mind was just in so much shock. Too much to give proper commands to her limbs.

In the meantime, a certain blond had finally reached the edge of the corner. He turned into the new street, ready to sprint up to Marinette's side despite the intense pain in his body. However, he forced his feet to halt at the sight before him.

Marinette stood in the near distance with her back turned to him. Thankfully for him, she didn't appear to have any major injuries from the crash. However, his chest grew as heavy as a bowling ball the second his eyes took in the sight of Luka with his arms wrapped around her. He wanted so badly to be the one holding her and comforting her after such an event. But, of course, she probably wouldn't want to be held by him anyways. He was ragged and covered in blood after all.

How stupid was he? Stealing his best friend's motorcycle, coming all the way here riding top speed on a vehicle he barely knew how to drive, and badly injuring himself in the process? Not to mention he probably wouldn't be able to take the motorcycle back home with injuries like this. He would have to take the taxi or metro and then explain to Nino that his motorcycle was lying somewhere in the middle of the city.

Luckily, his clothing choice for today was a black long sleeve shirt. Thus, the blood stains could barely be seen, meaning he wouldn't get weird looks from others (if they didn't pay attention to the clothing tear on his upper arm).

However, Adrien was more than prepared to get a scolding from his best friend like he always did whenever he made dumb decisions.

Love really does make us do stupid things.

A rather sad smile printed itself on his face. Before anyone could catch sight of him, Adrien turned away from the scene and stepped off in the direction he came from. A vermillion trail of blood oozed from the wounds on his left palm and right arm, traveling downwards like raindrops racing down the glass window of a car. The blood droplets scurried down his hands and dripped from his fingertips like water from a faucet that had been recently turned off. Small scarlet stains absorbed into the concrete by his feet, leaving a deep red trail of polka dots behind his path.

Having his skin slashed was nothing new to him anyways.

~

"See what I've been trying to tell you?"

Nino stood inside the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, eyeing all the blood that stained the white handkerchief on his best friend's hand. The blood on his upper arm had also managed to soak through the black fabric that was wrapped tightly around the wound, now exposing itself to outside view.

Nino's nose crinkled at the horrid, metallic odor that radiated off of the blond. Adrien stayed silent and kept his line of sight on the floor in order to avoid eye contact with Nino.

With a sigh, Nino reached a hand to his own face and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. White light glistened along the entirety of the prescribed lenses, completely hiding his eyes from view.

"Alright, come inside. Let's get you some new clothes and patch that up before you get an infection."

Still refusing to speak a single syllable, Adrien nodded subtly. The injured blond stepped inside his best friend's house and followed him down the hall. Nino turned into a different corner while Adrien settled on the couch inside the living room.

He unwrapped the bloody handkerchief from his hand. His elbows rested on his knees as he stared at the dried-up splotches that caked his left palm, painting the curved lines in his palm red as they followed their trail. The diagonal gash still throbbed and burned, and so did the wound on his right arm.

Nino returned to the living room holding a dark green sweatshirt, a roll of bandages, and other medical supplies. He tossed the sweatshirt on the couch right next to Adrien before placing the medical supplies on the coffee table in front of him. Nino knelt down next to Adrien's right side and unwrapped the black fabric from the wound on his arm. He then examined the deep cut on Adrien's upper arm. To say he was horrified was an understatement.

The long tear on Adrien's sleeve revealed nothing but a patch of scarlet blood between the gap. Adding to that, a dark red line that was almost black spread horizontally across his arm. Wincing at the rather disturbing sight, Nino drew his eyes away from the injury.

"You might want to get stitches for that," Nino suggested, "I don't think bandaging and disinfecting it would be enough."

Nino moved his eyes to the cut on Adrien's palm. Which, thankfully, was not as bad nor deep as the one on his arm. Nino stood to his feet and disappeared into the hallway yet again. He reappeared shortly with a soft cloth in his hand. Adrien watched as his best friend grabbed a large, silver bowl from the kitchen and began filling it with water.

"By the way, how's Marinette?" Nino asked and switched off the sink, "Is she okay?"

Adrien nodded, "She's not badly injured as far as I could tell."

He didn't exactly want to tell Nino what happened when he got there. Besides, all that mattered to him was that she was unharmed.

"That's good to know."

Nino returned to the living room and set the bowl on the coffee table. Hundreds of tiny soap bubbles speckled in uneven spaces across the surface of the water. Nino dipped his cloth in the soapy water, allowing it to soak into the soft material. He brought the waterlogged cloth out of the bowl and twisted the piece of fabric. The clear liquid poured back into the bowl like water running off the roof of a house on a rainy day.

"I'm just gonna clean the skin around your wounds first," Nino explained, "And if I were you, I would hold off on playing piano for a while."

Adrien flinched as the wet cloth came into contact with his palm. The cloth just barely missed the injured area as Nino dabbed around it. The cold yet soft fabric brushed along his blood-caked hand, lightly tickling the skin on his palm with each stroke. Ignoring his stinging wound, Adrien took a glance at Nino, who was so busy cleaning the blood off his hand that he hadn't noticed. The blond tilted his head slightly in confusion.

Nino has not mentioned a single thing nor asked anything about his motorcycle's whereabouts like Adrien had been expecting. Did he even notice how Adrien returned empty handed?

"Uh, Nino?"

Nino hummed in response and took the wet cloth off Adrien's hand. He dropped it back into the soapy water, repeating the previous process. Adrien's eyes fell to his palm, which had now been cleared of all the dried blood surrounding the wound. Nino shifted himself to the other side and began to do the same thing to the wound on Adrien's arm.

"I... May have left your motorcycle somewhere in the city," Adrien confessed in a mumble.

"I know," Nino responded casually.

Moving at the speed of a slug, Adrien slowly twisted his head to his right shoulder. To his surprise, Nino showed no sign of negative emotions in his facial expression.

"Aren't you mad at me?" Adrien asked.

"For being stupid and getting yourself injured, yes," Nino answered, "But I'm not mad at you for coming back without my motorcycle."

Adrien blinked, "Are you sure?"

Nino drew the cloth off of Adrien's arm. He tossed it back into the bowl and looked his best friend straight into those verdant emeralds of guilt.

"Dude, did you really think I would expect you to drive my motorcycle with injuries like _these?_ " Nino stated sharply, "You can barely drive one even without injuries. I'd rather have you abandon my bike than injure yourself even more."

"How will you get it back, then?"

"I'll worry about that later," Nino reached for a bottle of ointment, "Just go rinse yourself with water first."

Adrien nodded and stood up. He stepped around the coffee table and exited the living room for the bathroom. The second the lights turned on, Adrien stared at the blond boy in the glass. He rotated his right shoulder to get a better look at the cut on his arm.

With a sigh, Adrien used his unscarred hand to turn on the faucet. He ran his injured hand through the rod of running water, which produced an agonizing stinging sensation as the water rinsed through the cut. Adrien closed his eyes tightly and flinched from the pain. Although, not even deep down, he didn't care much about getting hurt physically anyways.

After all, it allowed him to feel _something._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Sorry if I was Haydn away for a bit. But just to be clear, I'm not exactly Bach yet. I just didn't want to leave you guys on that cliffhanger any longer. The workload from school is still too intense to Handel. I've already Liszted everything I have planned for this story, but finding the time and motivation to write is the problem. I'm not gonna lie, I've been lacking motivation recently :/ I'll still try to update once in a while, but my update schedule will be very unpredictable from now on. Thank you so much for your patience and for Tchaiking out my story! :D
> 
> (Lol not sure whether to be disappointed or proud of all these puns I just made)


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